Information needs of breast cancer patients and how educational status influence their information needs in Ghana

Abstract

Health information literacy plays a critical role in self-management practices among patients living with chronic health conditions. However, there are limited studies on information needs among breast cancer patients in Ghana. This paper therefore investigated the information needs of women living with breast cancer in Ghana and how educational status influenced their information needs. The study was conducted in two health facilities in Accra, Ghana (37 Military Hospital and Sweden Ghana Medical Centre). A total of 75 breast cancer patients were conveniently selected from the two health facilities for the study. The instrument used to elicit relevant data for this study was a questionnaire using the survey design. Data was analysed descriptively. The findings of the study revealed that the information needs of the breast cancer patients investigated were centred mainly around treatment and management information and less around preventive information. The patients also ranked diagnostic information as their highest need, followed by physical care information, treatment information, psychosocial information and disease-specific information in that order. Patients with higher education reported higher information need on all the five domains compared to those with lower education. The study therefore recommended that management of health facilities make health information literacy an integral component of their treatment and management of breast cancer.

Symptoms, concerns, and experiences of women living with and beyond breast cancer in Africa: A mixed‐methods systematic review

“…Quantitative studies were largely conducted in tertiary, teaching or government hospitals or a combination 28–51 . The aim of studies varied from those determining: (i) the quality of life of breast cancer patients 40,41,43,45 (typically explored using the Functional Assessment of Cancer Therapy‐Breast, 41,50 European Organisation for Research and Treatment of Cancer for cancer and breast cancer patients respectively (EORTC QLQ‐C30 and EORTC QLQ‐BR23), 37,38,43,44 the Brief‐COPE, 32,50 and the Mini‐Mental Adjustment to Cancer Scale, 35 see (Suppplementary File 7: Table 3), (ii) coping strategies of women with breast cancer, 32,46,50 (iii) psychological, psychosocial concerns, information needs, unmet needs, and fears, 31,33–36,39,42,47–49 and (iv) women's experiences with the health systems 28–30,51 . Findings from studies are presented below, aligned with the ARC framework (see Supplementary File 5).…”

“…In total, 48 studies were included, comprising quantitative 28–51 ( n = 24), qualitative 52–74 ( n = 23) and mixed methods 75 ( n = 1) studies. All included studies were published between 1998 and 2022 and represented data from countries ( n = 10) in Africa and covered the five regions of Africa (central, eastern, southern, western, and northern) with at least one study from each region.…”

“…All included studies were published between 1998 and 2022 and represented data from countries ( n = 10) in Africa and covered the five regions of Africa (central, eastern, southern, western, and northern) with at least one study from each region. Their distribution includes West Africa (Nigeria ( n = 12) (quantitative studies ( n = 4) 33,35,41,50 ), (qualitative studies ( n = 8) 53–56,58,60,66,71 ); Ghana ( n = 11) (quantitative studies ( n = 6) 31,32,36,39,48,51 ), (qualitative studies ( n = 5) 57,61,63,69,72 ); Mali ( n = 1) (quantitative studies ( n = 1) 29 )); Central or Middle Africa (Cameroon ( n = 1) (quantitative studies ( n = 1) 28 )), Southern Africa (South Africa ( n = 9) (quantitative studies ( n = 1) 34 ), (qualitative studies ( n = 8) 59,62,64,65,67,68,70,73 )), East Africa (Ethiopia ( n = 9) (quantitative studies ( n = 7) 30,37,40,42,44,46,47 ) (qualitative studies ( n = 1) 74 ) (mixed method studies ( n = 1) 75 ); Zambia ( n = 1) (qualitative studies ( n = 1) 52 ); Kenya ( n = 1) (quantitative studies ( n = 1) 49 )) and North Africa (Sudan ( n = 2) (quantitative studies ( n = 2) 38,45 ); Morocco ( n = 1) (quantitative studies ( n = 1) 43 )). The mean age of participants reported across studies ranged from 39.9 to 58.5 years, with participant ages ranging from 21 to 99 years.…”

“…In total, 48 studies were included, comprising quantitative (n = 24), qualitative (n = 23) and mixed methods 75 (n = 4) 33,35,41,50 ), (qualitative studies (n = 8) [53][54][55][56]58,60,66,71 ); Ghana (n = 11) (quantitative studies (n = 6) 31,32,36,39,48,51 ), (qualitative studies (n = 5) 57,61,63,69,72 ); Mali (n = 1) (quantitative studies (n = 1) 29 )); Central or Middle Africa (Cameroon (n = 1) (quantitative studies (n = 1) 28 )), Southern Africa (South Africa (n = 9) (quantitative studies (n = 1) 34 ), (qualitative studies (n = 8) 59,62,64,65,67,68,70,73 )), East Africa (Ethiopia (n = 9) (quantitative studies (n = 7) 30,37,40,42,44,46,47 ) (qualitative studies (n = 1) 74 ) (mixed method studies (n = 1) 75 );…”

“…41 For participants accessing healthcare, instances of health workers lacking empathy were reported, indicating adequate emotional support was not received, alongside a lack of information about their treatment (pre and post). 31,35,39,43,[45][46][47]49 Commonly reported needs of participants across studies included those relating to information (e.g., diagnostic, treatment and management information, physical care information, psychosocial information, and disease-specific and prognosis information), 35,39,[47][48][49] sexuality, 35,39 psychological health 49 and religion. 35,39 Many studies showed that most of the women had financial issues and were unable to pay for treatment, transport, and other costs associated with their cancer.…”