Money was the Problem”: Financial Difficulty is the Main Reason for Treatment Abandonment by Children with Cancer in South West Uganda

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dc.contributor.authorAtwiine, Barnabas
dc.contributor.authorBusingye, Imelda
dc.contributor.authorKyarisiima, Rose
dc.contributor.authorBaluku, Emmanuel
dc.contributor.authorMbabazi, Ruth
dc.contributor.authorBamwine, Brian
dc.contributor.authorAnkunda, Siyadora
dc.contributor.authorLibes, Jaime
dc.contributor.authorWeinstein, Howard
dc.contributor.authorSchwartz, Kevin
dc.contributor.authorKiwanuka, Gertrude
dc.date.accessioned2022-03-07T11:23:15Z
dc.date.available2022-03-07T11:23:15Z
dc.date.issued2021
dc.description.abstractTreatment 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.en_US
dc.identifier.citationAtwiine, B., Busingye, I., Kyarisiima, R., Baluku, E., Mbabazi, R., Bamwine, B., ... & Kiwanuka, G. (2021). “Money was the Problem”: Financial Difficulty is the Main Reason for Treatment Abandonment by Children with Cancer in South West Uganda. Authorea Preprints.en_US
dc.identifier.urihttps://www.authorea.com/doi/full/10.22541/au.161860018.80297374
dc.identifier.urihttps://nru.uncst.go.ug/xmlui/handle/123456789/2457
dc.language.isoenen_US
dc.publisherAuthorea Preprintsen_US
dc.subjectTreatment abandonmenten_US
dc.subjectChildrenen_US
dc.subjectCanceren_US
dc.subjectFinancial difficultyen_US
dc.subjectLow-middleincome countriesen_US
dc.subjectUgandaen_US
dc.titleMoney was the Problem”: Financial Difficulty is the Main Reason for Treatment Abandonment by Children with Cancer in South West Ugandaen_US
dc.typeArticleen_US
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