TY  - BOOK
AU  - 
AU  - 
AU  - 
TI  - Factors Influencing Health Seeking Behavior among Parents/Caregivers of Children Presenting with Cancer at Bugando Medical Center. 
PY  - 2024///
CY  - Mwanza, Tanzania |
PB  - Catholic University of Health and Allied Sciences [CUHAS-Bugando] |
KW  -  
N2  - Background:

Cancer is one of the leading causes of death in children and adolescents. The most common childhood cancer worldwide is believed to be acute lymphoblastic leukemia (19%), followed by non-Hodgkin lymphoma (5%), nephroblastoma (5%), Burkitt lymphoma (5%), and retinoblastoma (5%) [1] 

The chances of a child surviving a childhood cancer diagnosis vary depending on the nation they live in. While less than 30% of children with cancer in many LMICs receive a cure, over 80% of children with cancer in high-income nations do. Lower survival rates in LMICs can be attributed to a number of factors, such as delayed diagnosis, difficulty receiving an accurate diagnosis, therapy unavailability, treatment discontinuation, toxicity (side effect)-related deaths, and preventable relapses. [2]  

A survey conducted in 2012 involving cancer patients who received treatment at National Health services (NHS) hospitals in England assessing the risk factors for delay in symptomatic presentation. Among 1999 cancer patients reporting symptoms, 21% delayed presentation for >3 months. Delay was associated with greater socioeconomic deprivation but not age or sex. .[13]

Sub-Saharan Africa has significant shortcomings in its oncology treatment infrastructure and an underappreciated cancer burden. At the patient level, there are numerous obstacles to care, lack of knowledge or understanding about cancer may prevent parents from identifying signs in their kid, or cultural norms may cause them to prefer traditional therapy over contemporary treatment.[3]

A study conducted in Botswana 2017 involving 214 patients who completed a cancer survey, Twenty-six percent of patients experienced delays in appraisal, 35.5% experienced delays help seeking, 63.1% experienced delays in diagnosis, and 50.4% experienced delays in treatment. Patient income, education, and age were not associated with delays.[14] 

 The national cancer center in Tanzania's eastern area, Dar es Salaam, which for a long time was the sole cancer center in the nation, is the only source of historical published data on the distribution and results of pediatric cancer in Tanzania. The overall survival rate for pediatric cancer in 2005 was less than 20%, which is indicative of the dismal past reported outcomes.  In 2010, Bugando Medical Centre (BMC) opened a second cancer center to enhance access to cancer care and improve outcomes. The hospital serves over 15 million people in the northern Tanzanian Lake Zone. [4]

In a retrospective study conducted in northern Tanzania, a total of 417 patients were diagnosed with cancer between 2016 and 2021. There was an increase in the rate of patients with newly diagnosed pediatric cancer each year, particularly among children under age 5 years and 10 years. Leukemia and lymphomas were the leading diagnoses and accounted for 183 (43.8%) of all patients. Over 75% of patients were diagnosed at stage III or above.[15]


A study conducted in northern Tanzania titled, “Delays Experienced by Patients with Pediatric Cancer During the Health Facility Referral Process” Forty-nine caregivers were consented and included in the review. A total of 124 facilities were visited before Bugando Medical Center. Visiting a traditional healer first significantly increased the time taken to reach Bugando Medical Center compared with starting at a health center/dispensary (103 v 236 days). Facility visits in which a patient received a referral to a higher-level facility led to significantly decreased time to reach Bugando Medical Center. [16]

ER  -