Skip to main page content
U.S. flag

An official website of the United States government

Dot gov

The .gov means it’s official.
Federal government websites often end in .gov or .mil. Before sharing sensitive information, make sure you’re on a federal government site.

Https

The site is secure.
The https:// ensures that you are connecting to the official website and that any information you provide is encrypted and transmitted securely.

Access keys NCBI Homepage MyNCBI Homepage Main Content Main Navigation
. 2017 Jun;29(2):130-135.
doi: 10.4314/mmj.v29i2.10.

Characterising cancer burden and quality of care at two palliative care clinics in Malawi

Victoria Mukhula  1 , Daisy Sibale  1 , Lubna Tarmahomed  1 , Charles Dzamalala  1   2 , Kelias Msyamboza  1   3 , Steady Chasimpha  2
Affiliations

Characterising cancer burden and quality of care at two palliative care clinics in Malawi

Victoria Mukhula et al. Malawi Med J. 2017 Jun.

Abstract

Background: This paper describes cancer burden and compares characteristics of cancer patients enrolled at 2 palliative care facilities of contrasting resources and geographical locations in Malawi. It also assesses the extent of differences in service delivery and the impact these might have on outcomes.

Methods: Data on all cancer patients registered between October 2010 and October 2015 at Tiyanjane Clinic (at Queen Elizabeth Central Hospital, Blantyre) and Mzuzu Central Hospital (MCH) palliative care clinics were extracted and analysed. Key informant in-depth interviews were carried out at both sites. Thematic analysis was used for qualitative data and Excel 2010 and Stata 12 were used for analysis of quantitative data.

Results: Quantitative: There were 1362 and 633 cancer patients at Tiyanjane and MCH, respectively. Overall, females predominated over males (55.8% vs 42.8%); however, Tiyanjane had more males (52.2% vs 45.8%), which was contrary to Mzuzu (77.4% females vs 22.6% males). The 35- to 54-year age group was predominant at both Tiyanjane (43.1%) and Mzuzu (40.1%).Overall, the most common cancers were Kaposi's sarcoma (26.9%), cervical cancer (26.8%), oesophageal cancer (14.2%), hepatocellular carcinoma (4.9%), and bladder cancer (3.0%). Histologically confirmed diagnoses accounted for 13% of cases at Tiyanjane, whereas all patients from MCH were diagnosed clinically. Qualitative: Palliative care services were free of charge at both facilities, and owing to the expansion of services to district hospitals, the workload at central hospitals had been reduced. Between the 2 sites, there were differences in follow-up procedures, drug availabilities, as well as human resource capacity, with Mzuzu palliative care facility facing more extensive challenges.

Conclusions: The characteristics of patients seen at each site varied according to services available. Quality of care was assessed as superior at Tiyanjane, demonstrating the importance of multiple stakeholder involvement in the delivery of palliative care services.

PubMed Disclaimer

Figures

Figure 1
Figure 1
Basis of cancer diagnoses among patients at Mzuzu Central Hospital and Tiyanjane Clinic (Queen Elizabeth Central Hospital, Blantyre)
See this image and copyright information in PMC

References

    1. Ferlay J, Soerjomataram I, Ervik M, et al. GLOBOCAN 2012 v1.0, Cancer Incidence Mortality Worldwide:IARC CancerBase No.11[Internet] Lyon, France: International Agency for Research on Cancer; 2013. [11/29/2014]. Available from: http://globocan.iarc.fr.
    1. Sylla BS, Wild CP. A million africans a year dying from cancer by 2030: what can cancer research and control offer to the continent? Int J Cancer. 2012;130:245–250. - PMC - PubMed
    1. World Health Organization, author. World Cancer Report 2008. Lyon: International Agency for Research on Cancer; 2008.
    1. World Health Organization, author. Palliative care. Geneva: World Health Organization; 2007. Google Scholar.
    1. Ministry of Health, author. ‘Summary Sheet Preliminary Findings:The Malawi Population-Based HIV Impact Assessment’. 2016.

Publication types

LinkOut - more resources