Modifiable patient-related barriers and their association with breast cancer detection practices among Ugandan women without a diagnosis of breast cancer

Most women with breast cancer in sub-Saharan Africa (SSA) are diagnosed with late-staged disease. The current study assesses patient-related barriers among women from a general SSA population to better understand how patient-related barriers contribute to diagnostic delays. Using convenience-based sampling, 401 Ugandan women without breast cancer were surveyed to determine how prior participation in cancer detection practices correlate with patient-related barriers to prompt diagnosis. In a predominantly poor (76%) and rural population (75%), the median age of the participants was 38. Of the women surveyed, 155 (46%) had prior exposure to breast cancer education, 92 (27%) performed breast self-examination (BSE) and 68 (20%) had undergone a recent clinical breast examination (CBE), breast ultrasound or breast biopsy. The most commonly identified barriers to prompt diagnosis were knowledge deficits regarding early diagnosis (79%), economic barriers to accessing care (68%), fear (37%) and ...

撒哈拉以南非洲（sub-Saharan Africa, SSA）的绝大多数乳腺癌患者确诊时已处于疾病晚期。本研究针对该区域普通人群中的女性展开患者相关障碍评估，以期深入阐明患者相关因素如何导致诊断延迟。本研究采用方便抽样（convenience-based sampling）法，对401名无乳腺癌病史的乌干达女性开展问卷调查，以探究既往参与癌症筛查行为与及时诊断相关的患者障碍之间的关联。该研究人群以低收入群体为主（76%）且多数居住于农村地区（75%），参与者的中位年龄为38岁。在受访女性中，155人（46%）曾接受过乳腺癌健康教育，92人（27%）曾进行乳房自我检查（breast self-examination, BSE），另有68人（20%）近期接受过临床乳房检查（clinical breast examination, CBE）、乳腺超声检查或乳腺活检。研究发现，最常见的及时诊断障碍包括早期诊断相关知识匮乏（79%）、就医经济负担（68%）以及恐惧心理（37%）等……