PERCEPTION AND UPTAKE OF CHEMOTHERAPY AMONG ONCOLOGY PATIENTS IN A TERTIARY HOSPITAL IN EDO STATE

ABSTRACT

chemotherapy is a systemic treatment which is one of the ways in which cancer is treated in the hospital and how patient perceive and accept this treatment will determine their compliance with the treatment. This study was carried out to examine patient’s perception and acceptance of chemotherapy among cancer patients in a tertiary hospital in Benin City, Edo state. Using a descriptive design, 270 oncology patients who intend to undergo chemotherapy, already taking chemotherapy and who had taken chemotherapy for at least 6months duration were offered a well-structured questionnaire using convenient sampling method. Data collected were analyzed using descriptive statistics such as mean and inferential statistics such as Chi square and anova to test hypothesis at 5% level of significance. Result showed that generally, 97(35.9%) had poor knowledge of chemotherapy, 132(48.9%) had moderate knowledge while only 41(15.2%) had good knowledge. In the study, majority of the respondents correctly reported that chemotherapy is termed the use of drugs to kill cancerous cells. 102(37.8%) got the correct effect of chemotherapy. There was a significant relationship (p>0.05) between patient age and knowledge of chemotherapy found, however no significant difference (p<0.05) was found between patients’ level of knowledge and the perception of chemotherapy. Conclusion: Based on the study findings, majority of the respondent had fair knowledge and positive perception of chemotherapy. The study however also identified several strong factors that influenced perception of cancer patients towards chemotherapy, government and multinational agencies should make efforts toward reducing the cost of chemotherapy for cancer patients.

Keywords: Acceptance, perception, chemotherapy, cancer, oncology patient