TY - JOUR
T1 - Knowledge of symptoms, time to presentation and barriers to medical help-seeking among Omani women diagnosed with breast cancer
T2 - A cross-sectional study
AU - Al-Azri, Mohammed
AU - Al-Baimani, Khalid
AU - Al-Awaisi, Huda
AU - Al-Mandhari, Zahid
AU - Al-Khamayasi, Jasem
AU - Al-Lawati, Yaseen
AU - Panchatcharam, Sathiya Murthi
N1 - Funding Information:
Acknowledgements The authors are grateful to the participating patients and to the authorities at RH and SQUH for allowing this study to take place. They are also grateful to the College of Medicine and Health Sciences at Sultan Qaboos University for funding the study. Contributors MA-A, KA-B, HA-A, ZA-M, JA-K and YA-L conceived of the study and contributed to its design and implementation. JA-K and YA-L collected data. SMP performed the statistical analysis. MA-A drafted the manuscript. All authors read and approved the final version of the manuscript. Funding This study was funded by an internal grant from the College of Medicine and Health Sciences, Sultan Qaboos University (#IG/MED/FMCO/19/01).
Publisher Copyright:
© Author(s) (or their employer(s)) 2021. Re-use permitted under CC BY-NC. No commercial re-use. See rights and permissions. Published by BMJ.
PY - 2021/1/21
Y1 - 2021/1/21
N2 - Objective To identify knowledge of breast cancer (BC) symptoms, time taken to consult a doctor and factors contributing to delays in medical help-seeking. Design A cross-sectional study of Omani women diagnosed with BC. Setting The two main teaching hospitals in Oman: Royal Hospital and Sultan Qaboos University Hospital. Participants Adult Omani women recently diagnosed with BC. Tools The Breast Module of the Cancer Awareness Measure and the International Cancer Benchmarking Partnership questionnaire were used to collect data. Results A total of 300 women with BC participated (response rate: 91.0%). The mean age at diagnosis was 43.0±12.50 years and 33.5% were diagnosed at stage III or IV. Although most women (74.4%) recognised breast/armpit lumps to be a symptom of BC, less than half identified other symptoms, including breast/armpit pain (44.0%), changes in the position of the nipple (36.2%), redness (31.7%), fatigue (26.3%), weight loss (23.4%) and loss of appetite (20.8%). While most (91.6%) were aware that BC could be cured if detected early, only 66.4% sought medical help within a month of developing symptoms. Initial responses to symptoms included informing husbands (40.2%) or family members (36.5%). Barriers to seeking medical help included feeling scared (68.9%) and worried about what the doctor might find (62.8%). Highly educated women were more likely to recognise the following as BC symptoms: changes in nipple position (OR: 0.16, 95% CI 0.03 to 0.81), breast pain (OR: 0.10, 95% CI 0.01 to 0.86) and unexplained weight loss (OR: 0.18, 95% CI 0.04 to 0.88) (all p<0.05). Conclusions Although many Omani women with BC were aware of the importance of early diagnosis, most demonstrated inadequate knowledge of symptoms, did not prioritise seeking medical help and reported emotional barriers to help-seeking. More educational measures are needed to improve symptom recognition and address help-seeking barriers to minimise delays in diagnosis.
AB - Objective To identify knowledge of breast cancer (BC) symptoms, time taken to consult a doctor and factors contributing to delays in medical help-seeking. Design A cross-sectional study of Omani women diagnosed with BC. Setting The two main teaching hospitals in Oman: Royal Hospital and Sultan Qaboos University Hospital. Participants Adult Omani women recently diagnosed with BC. Tools The Breast Module of the Cancer Awareness Measure and the International Cancer Benchmarking Partnership questionnaire were used to collect data. Results A total of 300 women with BC participated (response rate: 91.0%). The mean age at diagnosis was 43.0±12.50 years and 33.5% were diagnosed at stage III or IV. Although most women (74.4%) recognised breast/armpit lumps to be a symptom of BC, less than half identified other symptoms, including breast/armpit pain (44.0%), changes in the position of the nipple (36.2%), redness (31.7%), fatigue (26.3%), weight loss (23.4%) and loss of appetite (20.8%). While most (91.6%) were aware that BC could be cured if detected early, only 66.4% sought medical help within a month of developing symptoms. Initial responses to symptoms included informing husbands (40.2%) or family members (36.5%). Barriers to seeking medical help included feeling scared (68.9%) and worried about what the doctor might find (62.8%). Highly educated women were more likely to recognise the following as BC symptoms: changes in nipple position (OR: 0.16, 95% CI 0.03 to 0.81), breast pain (OR: 0.10, 95% CI 0.01 to 0.86) and unexplained weight loss (OR: 0.18, 95% CI 0.04 to 0.88) (all p<0.05). Conclusions Although many Omani women with BC were aware of the importance of early diagnosis, most demonstrated inadequate knowledge of symptoms, did not prioritise seeking medical help and reported emotional barriers to help-seeking. More educational measures are needed to improve symptom recognition and address help-seeking barriers to minimise delays in diagnosis.
KW - adult oncology
KW - breast tumours
KW - preventive medicine
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UR - http://www.scopus.com/inward/citedby.url?scp=85100061878&partnerID=8YFLogxK
U2 - 10.1136/bmjopen-2020-043976
DO - 10.1136/bmjopen-2020-043976
M3 - Article
C2 - 33478965
AN - SCOPUS:85100061878
SN - 2044-6055
VL - 11
JO - BMJ Open
JF - BMJ Open
IS - 1
M1 - e043976
ER -