Abstract:

Background: Cancer is a leading cause of death worldwide, accounting for nearly 10 million deaths in 2020, or nearly one in six deaths. In Tanzania, the situation is equally concerning, with an estimated 42,060 new cases and 28,610 cancer related deaths recorded in 2018. Mwanza Cancer registry reported 1500 new cases between 2016 and 2019). Depression and anxiety are the most common psychosocial conditions facing cancer patients.

Aim: To assess the prevalence and sociodemographic factors associated with anxiety and depression among adult cancer patients attending radiation therapy at Bugando Medical Centre, Mwanza Northwestern, Tanzania.

Methodology: The study was a cross-sectional hospital based descriptive study The data collected by using a well-designed and pretested questionnaire for Socio-demographic and the tools which were the Patient Health Questionnaire (PHQ-9) and the Brief Symptom Inventory (BSI) anxiety subscale for depression and anxiety respectively

Results: A total of 104 respondents participated in the study. the prevalence of depression severity was: 19.2% of the patients experienced mild depression, 12.5% had moderate depression, and 6.7% reported moderately severe depression. the prevalence of anxiety severity was categorized as follows: 16.3% of the patients experienced mild anxiety, 9.6% of the patients reported moderate anxiety, and 5.8% reported severe anxiety.

Conclusion and recommendations: The prevalence of depression and anxiety among adult cancer patients attending radiation therapy is considerably significant which is about the one-third of the patients attended. Cancer institutions should implement routine psychosocial assessments, raise the awareness and conduct further research on prevalence of depression and anxiety among cancer patients.