Barriers to early presentation of self-discovered breast cancer in Singapore and Malaysia: a qualitative multicentre study
| Autor: | Tar-Ching Aw, Barbara Potrata, Mikael Hartman, Maznah Dahlui, Rifhan Azwani Mazlan, Celene W. Q. Ng, Jennifer N W Lim, Leonardo Simonella, Nur Aishah Taib |
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| Rok vydání: | 2015 |
| Předmět: |
Adult
medicine.medical_specialty Pediatrics Health Knowledge Attitudes Practice Ethnic group Breast Neoplasms Global Health Breast cancer PREVENTIVE MEDICINE medicine Humans Healthcare Disparities Socioeconomic status Early Detection of Cancer Qualitative Research Preventive healthcare Malay Aged Neoplasm Staging Aged 80 and over Singapore business.industry Public health Research Health services research Malaysia Breast Self-Examination General Medicine Middle Aged Patient Acceptance of Health Care medicine.disease language.human_language Family medicine language Female Thematic analysis business |
| Zdroj: | BMJ Open |
| ISSN: | 2044-6055 |
| Popis: | Objective To explore and compare barriers to early presentation of self-discovered breast cancer in Singapore and Malaysia. Design A qualitative interview study with thematic analysis of transcripts. Participants 67 patients with self-discovered breast symptoms were included in the analysis. Of these, 36% were of Malay ethnicity, 39% were Chinese and 25% Indian, with an average age of 58 years (range 24–82 years). The number of women diagnosed at early stages of cancer almost equalled those at advanced stages. Approximately three-quarters presented with a painless lump, one-quarter experienced a painful lump and 10% had atypical symptoms. Setting University hospital setting in Singapore and Malaysia. Results Patients revealed barriers to early presentation not previously reported: the poor quality of online website information about breast symptoms, financial issues and the negative influence of relatives in both countries, while perceived poor quality of care and services in state-run hospitals and misdiagnosis by healthcare professionals were reported in Malaysia. The pattern of presentation by ethnicity remained unchanged where more Malay delayed help-seeking and had more advanced cancer compared to Chinese and Indian patients. Conclusions There are few differences in the pattern of presentation and in the reported barriers to seek medical care after symptom discovery between Singapore and Malaysia despite their differing economic status. Strategies to reduce delayed presentation are: a need to improve knowledge of disease, symptoms and causes, quality of care and services, and quality of online information; and addressing fear of diagnosis, treatment and hospitalisation, with more effort focused on the Malay ethnic group. Training is needed to avoid missed diagnoses and other factors contributing to delay among health professionals. |
| Databáze: | OpenAIRE |
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