Browsing by Author "Ankunda, Siyadora"

Now showing 1 - 2 of 2
  • Thumbnail Image
    Item
    Money was the Problem”: Financial Difficulty is the Main Reason for Treatment Abandonment by Children with Cancer in South West Uganda
    (Authorea Preprints, 2021) Atwiine, Barnabas; Busingye, Imelda; Kyarisiima, Rose; Baluku, Emmanuel; Mbabazi, Ruth; Bamwine, Brian; Ankunda, Siyadora; Libes, Jaime; Weinstein, Howard; Schwartz, Kevin; Kiwanuka, Gertrude
    Treatment abandonment contributes significantly to poor survival of children with cancer in low-middle-income countries (LMICs). In order to inform an approach to this problem at our Cancer Unit, we investigated why caregivers withdraw their children from treatment. Methods – In a qualitative study, in-depth interviews were conducted with caregivers of children who had abandoned cancer treatment at the Paediatric Cancer Unit (PCU) of Mbarara Regional Referral Hospital (MRRH) in South Western Uganda, between May 2017 and September 2020. Recorded in-depth interviews with caregivers were transcribed and analyzed to identify themes of caregiver self-reported reasons for treatment abandonment. Results - Seventy-seven out of 343 (22.4%) children treated for cancer at MRRH abandoned treatment during the study period; 20 contactable and consenting caregivers participated in the study. The median age of children’s caregivers was 37 years and most (65%) were mothers. At the time of this study, eight (40%) children were alive and 5 (62.5%) were males; with a median age of 6.5 years. Financial difficulties, other obligations, the child falsely appearing cured, preference for alternative treatments, belief that cancer was incurable, fear that the child’s death was imminent and chemotherapy side-effects were the caregivers’ reasons for treatment abandonment. Conclusions and Recommendation – Treatment abandonment among children with cancer in Uganda is, most times, as a result of difficult conditions beyond the caregivers’ control and needs to be approached with empathy and support.
  • Thumbnail Image
    Item
    “Moneywas the problem”: Caregivers’ self-reported reasons for abandoning their children’s cancer treatment in southwest Uganda
    (Pediatric Blood & Cancer, 2021) Atwiine, Barnabas; Busingye, Imelda; Kyarisiima, Rose; Baluku, Emmanuel; Mbabazi, Ruth; Bamwine, Brian; Ankunda, Siyadora; Libes, Jaime; Weinstein, Howard; Schwartz, Kevin; Kiwanuka, Gertrude
    Treatment abandonment contributes significantly to poor survival of children with cancer in low- and middle-income countries (LMIC). In order to inform an approach to this problem, we investigated why caregivers withdraw their children from treatment. Methods: In a qualitative study, carried out in October and November 2020, in-depth interviews were conducted with caregivers of children who had abandoned cancer treatment at the PediatricCancerUnit ofMbarara Regional ReferralHospital in southwesternUganda. Recorded in-depth interviewswere transcribed and analyzed to identify themes of caregivers’ self-reported reasons for treatment abandonment. The study was approved by the Review and Ethics Committee of Mbarara University of Science and Technology. Results: Seventy-seven out of 343 (22.4%) children diagnosed with cancer abandoned treatment during the study period; 20 contactable and consenting caregivers participated in the study. The median age of the caregivers was 37 years and most (65%)were mothers.At the time of this study, eight (40%) childrenwere alive and five (62.5%)were males; with a median age of 6.5 years. Financial difficulty, other obligations, the child falsely appearing cured, preference for alternative treatments, belief that cancer was incurable, fear that the child’s death was imminent and chemotherapy side effectswere the caregivers’ reasons for treatment abandonment. Conclusions and recommendation: Seeking cancer treatment for children inUganda is an expensive venture and treatment abandonment is mainly caused by caregivers’ difficult socio-economic circumstances. This problem needs to be approached with empathy and support rather than blame.