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
. 2022 Aug 22:14:2507-2518.
doi: 10.2147/CMAR.S373379. eCollection 2022.

The Experiences of Cervical Cancer Patients During Follow-Up Care in Ethiopia: A Qualitative Study

Anteneh Dirar  1 , Wubegzier Mekonnen  2 , Zena Berhanu  3
Affiliations

The Experiences of Cervical Cancer Patients During Follow-Up Care in Ethiopia: A Qualitative Study

Anteneh Dirar et al. Cancer Manag Res. .

Abstract

Purpose: The purpose of the study was to explore the experiences among cervical cancer patients during follow-up care.

Patients and methods: A qualitative study was conducted with purposively selected cervical cancer patients receiving follow-up treatment at Tikur Anbessa Specialized Hospital, Addis Ababa, Ethiopia. Data were collected using semi-structured interviews and analyzed via thematic analysis.

Results: The results obtained in this study indicated that women experienced a variety of physical and psychosocial difficulties in the context of cervical cancer care. The data analysis resulted in five themes. Women have undergone difficulties indicated as lack of satisfaction with the health care experience, dealing with treatment side effects, struggle in work and daily life, having stress, disruption in social relationships, and financial difficulties incurred because of their illness and treatment.

Conclusion: This study highlights that cervical cancer patient's experience is the outcome of a complex interplay by personal, clinical, psychological, and social spheres. Thus, interdisciplinary approach between health and psychosocial professionals is needed during follow-up care in order to help women experience better psychosocial adjustment.

Keywords: Ethiopia; cervical cancer; psychosocial; qualitative study.

PubMed Disclaimer

Conflict of interest statement

The authors report no conflicts of interest in this work.

Similar articles

See all similar articles

Cited by

See all "Cited by" articles

References

    1. World Health Organization. Global strategy to accelerate the elimination of cervical cancer as a public health problem. Geneva; 2020. Available from: https://apps.who.int/iris/bitstream/handle/10665/336583/9789240014107-en.... Accessed December 23, 2021.
    1. International Agency for Research on Cancer, World Health Organization. Cancer statistics, Ethiopia. Geneva; 2021. Available from: http://gco.iarc.fr/today/data/factsheets/populations/231-ethiopia-fact-s.... Accessed August 17, 2022.
    1. Consolo F, Romao A. Women’s poorer satisfaction with their sex lives following gynecologic cancer treatment. Clin J Oncol Nurs. 2012;16(3):273–277. doi:10.1188/12.CJON.273-277 - DOI - PubMed
    1. Silva S, Crespo C, Canavarro M. Pathways for psychological adjustment in breast cancer: a longitudinal study on coping strategies and posttraumatic growth. Psychol Health. 2012;27(11):1323–1341. doi:10.1080/08870446.2012.676644 - DOI - PubMed
    1. Maher EJ, Denton A. Survivorship, late effects and cancer of the cervix. Clin Oncol. 2008;20:479–487. doi:10.1016/j.clon.2008.04.009 - DOI - PubMed