Asuquo, E.O., Absolom, K., Ebenso, B. et al. (1 more author) (2024) Symptoms, concerns, and experiences of women living with and beyond breast cancer in Africa: A mixed-methods systematic review. Psycho-Oncology, 33 (5). e6342. ISSN 1057-9249
Abstract
Objective
A mixed-methods systematic review to determine reported symptoms, concerns, and experiences of women living with and beyond breast cancer in Africa.
Methods
Literature searches were conducted in Medline, Embase, PsycINFO, Global Health, Web of Science, CINAHL, and the Cochrane Library. Quantitative and qualitative studies that comprised study populations of women with breast cancer from countries in Africa, detailing symptoms, concerns, and experiences of living with and beyond breast cancer were included. Inductive framework analysis was applied to organise existing literature with the Adversity, Restoration, and Compatibility framework and quality was assessed using the Mixed Methods Appraisal Tool.
Results
In total, 48 studies were included, comprising quantitative (n = 24), qualitative (n = 23) and mixed method (n = 1) studies. Women reported multiple complex and burdensome symptoms at all stages of the breast cancer disease trajectory. Multiple pervasive factors influencing participants' experiences included a lack of cancer knowledge, being removed from decision-making, religion, and the presence and use of traditional medicines. Literature relating to benefit finding, understanding identity for the future, and broader perspectives of well-being was absent.
Conclusions
This review contributes insights and mapping of symptoms, concerns, and experiences of women with breast cancer in Africa. There is a great necessity to increase an understanding of the needs and experiences of women with breast cancer in Africa following cancer treatment, stages of remission, and longer-term monitoring and follow-up. This is required to ensure access to prompt and timely clinical and individualized supportive care for women with breast cancer in Africa.
Metadata
Item Type: | Article |
---|---|
Authors/Creators: |
|
Copyright, Publisher and Additional Information: | © 2024 The Authors. Psycho-Oncology published by John Wiley & Sons Ltd. This is an open access article under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution License, which permits use, distribution and reproduction in any medium, provided the original work is properly cited. |
Keywords: | Africa; breast cancer; cancer; experiences; mixed methods; oncology; quality of life; survivorship; symptoms; systematic review |
Dates: |
|
Institution: | The University of Leeds |
Academic Units: | The University of Leeds > Faculty of Medicine and Health (Leeds) > School of Medicine (Leeds) > Leeds Institute of Health Sciences (Leeds) > Academic Unit of Primary Care (Leeds) |
Depositing User: | Symplectic Publications |
Date Deposited: | 04 Apr 2024 15:04 |
Last Modified: | 24 May 2024 15:20 |
Status: | Published |
Publisher: | Wiley |
Identification Number: | 10.1002/pon.6342 |
Open Archives Initiative ID (OAI ID): | oai:eprints.whiterose.ac.uk:211159 |