Beliefs of cancer patients in Saudi Arabia
Objectives: To examine oncology patients' beliefs about the transmissible nature of cancer or its treatments and to determine the correlates thereof. Design: Cross-sectional. Participants: Sixty-nine hospital outpatients completed the questionnaire. Methods: Beliefs about the spread of cancer,...
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Published in | Journal of psychosocial oncology Vol. 38; no. 3; pp. 358 - 374 |
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Main Authors | , , , |
Format | Journal Article |
Language | English |
Published |
United States
Routledge
03.05.2020
Taylor & Francis LLC |
Subjects | |
Online Access | Get full text |
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Summary: | Objectives: To examine oncology patients' beliefs about the transmissible nature of cancer or its treatments and to determine the correlates thereof.
Design: Cross-sectional.
Participants: Sixty-nine hospital outpatients completed the questionnaire.
Methods: Beliefs about the spread of cancer, chemotherapy, and radiation therapy with physical contact, along with demographic, social, psychological, health-related characteristics were assessed by questionnaire. Bivariate and multivariate analyses identified correlations between these beliefs and patient characteristics.
Findings: A percentage (5.8%) believed their cancer could spread like an infection or be transmitted through sexual or nonsexual contact and 15.9% were unsure. Even more (13.0%) believed that chemotherapy could spread through sexual or nonsexual contact and 18.8% were unsure. Likewise, many believed (10.1%) that radiation therapy could spread through sexual or nonsexual contact and 21.7% were unsure. Obsessions with contamination were most strongly associated with such beliefs (B = 0.73, SE = 0.09, p < .0001).
Conclusions: Beliefs about the spread of cancer or its treatments are not uncommon in Saudi Arabia, where cultural beliefs and tradition strongly influence healthcare decisions. |
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Bibliography: | ObjectType-Article-1 SourceType-Scholarly Journals-1 ObjectType-Feature-2 content type line 23 |
ISSN: | 0734-7332 1540-7586 |
DOI: | 10.1080/07347332.2019.1642284 |