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BMC palliative care
Sep 20, 2023;22 (1): 140.

Access to palliative care in patients with advanced cancer of the uterine cervix in the low- and middle-income countries: a systematic review.

Francis Ooko, Tebogo Mothiba, Peter Van Bogaert, Johan Wens
Author Information
  1. Francis Ooko: Faculty of Health Sciences, University of Limpopo, Private Bag X1106, Sovenga, 0727, South Africa. francis.ooko@ul.ac.za.
  2. Tebogo Mothiba: Faculty of Health Sciences, University of Limpopo, Private Bag X1106, Sovenga, 0727, South Africa.
  3. Peter Van Bogaert: Faculty of Medicine and Health Sciences, University of Antwerp, Prinsstraat 13, Antwerp, 2000, Belgium.
  4. Johan Wens: Faculty of Medicine and Health Sciences, University of Antwerp, Prinsstraat 13, Antwerp, 2000, Belgium.
PMID: 37726748 DOI: 10.1186/s12904-023-01263-9

Abstract

BACKGROUND: Women with advanced uterine cervical cancer suffer from a combination of moderate to severe physical, psychological, social, and spiritual distress due to their disease and are in need of palliative care to improve their quality of life. Approximately 85% of the women live in the low- and middle-income countries. Whether these women and their families access palliative care is not known.
OBJECTIVES: To understand the geographic accessibility, availability, financial accessibility, and acceptability of palliative care by patients with advanced cervical cancer and their families.
METHODS: We conducted a Systematic review following PRISMA guidelines in CINAHL, Cochrane Central Register of Controlled Trials, MEDLINE, PsychINFO, PubMed and Scopus for the core concepts: palliative care, access, advanced uterine cervical cancer. Eligible articles were published in English, contained original data on experiences of patients and/or caregivers including symptoms management, and discussed available resources, communication, satisfaction, and healthcare utilization.
RESULTS: Overall there was limited access to palliative care with the few available facilities located in cities, far from the rural areas where most women lived. Pervasive poverty was common with poor affordability of healthcare, travelling, accommodation, and subsistence expenses. Misconceptions and poor knowledge of the disease, cultural beliefs and attitudes, and other health system insufficiencies also presented challenges for access.
CONCLUSION: Concerted effort should be made to improve availability of palliative care facilities. Health education to address misconceptions and other cognitive barriers that limit access among cervical cancer patients and their families should be urgently undertaken in the LMICs.

Keywords

Access Cervical cancer Low and middle-income countries Palliative care

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MeSH Term

Humans
Female
Palliative Care
Uterine Cervical Neoplasms
Developing Countries
Quality of Life
Hospice and Palliative Care Nursing
Systematic Review Journal Article
Article has an altmetric score of 1

Word Cloud

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