Symptom Perceptions and Help-Seeking Behaviours of Omani Patients Diagnosed with Late-Stage Colorectal Cancer: A Qualitative Study

Mahera Al Suqri, Huda Al-Awaisi, Mansour Al-Moundhri, Mohammed Al-Azri*

*المؤلف المقابل لهذا العمل

نتاج البحث: المساهمة في مجلةArticleمراجعة النظراء

4 اقتباسات (Scopus)

ملخص

Objective: Colorectal cancer (CRC) is the fourth leading cause of mortality in Oman, with most patients diagnosed at advanced stages. Early diagnosis of CRC improves prognosis and survival rate. The aim of this study was to explore the symptom perceptions and help-seeking behaviours (HSBs) of Omani patients diagnosed with late-stage CRC. Methods: Semi-structured individual interviews were conducted with 16 patients. Results: Four main themes emerged, including normalisation and ignorance (patients felt healthy, perceived symptoms as not being serious and related to dietary habits, concealed them or prioritised work and family commitments), self-empowerment and self-management (patients were stubborn, employed ‘wait and see’ approach, used symptomatic or herbal treatments), disclosure and seeking help (patients disclosed symptoms to family members or friends, sought medical help only when symptoms worsened, visited faith healers or travelled abroad for treatment) and healthcare professionals (patients attributed treatment or diagnosis delays to lack of continuity of care, loss of trust in doctors or delays in referral). Conclusion: Patients attributed delays in CRC diagnosis to several factors based on their perceptions of symptoms. Most HSBs driven by sociocultural and emotional causes. Increased awareness of CRC symptoms and modifying HSBs can encourage early diagnosis. Prompting patients to disclose CRC-related symptoms may aid referral decisions.

اللغة الأصليةEnglish
الصفحات (من إلى)427-435
عدد الصفحات9
دوريةAsian Pacific Journal of Cancer Prevention
مستوى الصوت22
رقم الإصدار2
المعرِّفات الرقمية للأشياء
حالة النشرPublished - 2021

ASJC Scopus subject areas

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بصمة

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