Research Background: Cervical cancer is the second most common cancer in women and the third leading cause of female cancer death in Bangladesh. Delay in initiation of treatment in advanced stage cervical cancer patie...Research Background: Cervical cancer is the second most common cancer in women and the third leading cause of female cancer death in Bangladesh. Delay in initiation of treatment in advanced stage cervical cancer patients is an important modifiable risk factor for cancer-related mortality. Identifying elements associated with delay of diagnosis will help reduce barriers to timely treatment of cervical cancer. Research Objectives: The objective of this study was to analyze the factors leading to delay in diagnosis and treatment of women with advanced stage cervical cancer. Methods: A cross-sectional observational study analyzed the factors associated with delay in initiation of treatment for 138 patients with advanced-stage cervical cancer from November 2019 to October 2020 at the National Institute of Cancer Research and Hospital (NICRH) in Dhaka, Bangladesh. Advanced-stage cervical cancer patients between the ages of 30 to 70 years were included in this study. Face-to-face interviews with the participants used a predesigned data collection sheet. In this study, three components of delay were identified: primary delay due to patient factors, healthcare provider delay, and healthcare-system infrastructure delay. Factors associated with delay were the independent variables and durations of delay were the outcome variables. Descriptive statistics were expressed as mean + standard deviation, median, percentage, and frequency. Results: One hundred and thirty-eight patients with advanced stage cervical cancer were included in the study. The mean age of the patients was 48.74 (±9.57) years. Thirty-four percent of patients were illiterate. More than half (57.25%) of the patients were from lower middle-class families. Delays were categorized as patient-related, healthcare provider delay, and healthcare-system infrastructure related. Patient-related factors included low monthly income, residence in a rural area, embarrassment, fear, lack of knowledge regarding cervical cancer, delay in contacting a spouse, family member or展开更多
文摘Research Background: Cervical cancer is the second most common cancer in women and the third leading cause of female cancer death in Bangladesh. Delay in initiation of treatment in advanced stage cervical cancer patients is an important modifiable risk factor for cancer-related mortality. Identifying elements associated with delay of diagnosis will help reduce barriers to timely treatment of cervical cancer. Research Objectives: The objective of this study was to analyze the factors leading to delay in diagnosis and treatment of women with advanced stage cervical cancer. Methods: A cross-sectional observational study analyzed the factors associated with delay in initiation of treatment for 138 patients with advanced-stage cervical cancer from November 2019 to October 2020 at the National Institute of Cancer Research and Hospital (NICRH) in Dhaka, Bangladesh. Advanced-stage cervical cancer patients between the ages of 30 to 70 years were included in this study. Face-to-face interviews with the participants used a predesigned data collection sheet. In this study, three components of delay were identified: primary delay due to patient factors, healthcare provider delay, and healthcare-system infrastructure delay. Factors associated with delay were the independent variables and durations of delay were the outcome variables. Descriptive statistics were expressed as mean + standard deviation, median, percentage, and frequency. Results: One hundred and thirty-eight patients with advanced stage cervical cancer were included in the study. The mean age of the patients was 48.74 (±9.57) years. Thirty-four percent of patients were illiterate. More than half (57.25%) of the patients were from lower middle-class families. Delays were categorized as patient-related, healthcare provider delay, and healthcare-system infrastructure related. Patient-related factors included low monthly income, residence in a rural area, embarrassment, fear, lack of knowledge regarding cervical cancer, delay in contacting a spouse, family member or
