Title : Attitudes and practices contributing to vaginal stenosis in women with cervical cancer following brachytherapy at cancer diseases hospital in Lusaka, Zambia. A cross sectional study
Abstract:
Background: Vaginal stenosis is an important adverse effect of brachytherapy for cervical cancer. This study was aimed to determine attitudes and practices contributing to vaginal stenosis following brachytherapy at the Cancer Diseases Hospital in Lusaka – Zambia
Methods: A descriptive cross-sectional study design was employed where 163 respondents were randomly selected after meeting inclusion criteria. A researcher-administered questionnaire was used to collect data and SPSS version 25 used for data analysis.
Results: Out of the 163 women enrolled in this study, 42.3% had developed vaginal stenosis while 57.7% did not with age range 15- 60+ years. 76% exhibited good practices to measures against vaginal stenosis while majority (93.9%) of the respondents demonstrated poor attitudes towards measures to prevent the condition. However, these increasing effects in odds of vaginal stenosis were not significant at 5% level of significance. Although length of brachytherapy showed no significant effect at univariable analysis, the odds of having vaginal stenosis were 2.45 times higher for women who had been on brachytherapy between 6 and 12 months compared to those on brachytherapy for less than 6 months (OR=2.45, CI=1.03 – 5.82, P=0.042).
- Failure to practice recommended measures and poor attitudes towards therapy contributes to vaginal stenosis. Efforts should be channeled towards overcoming religious, traditional, cultural and personal impediments contributing to vaginal stenosis in women with cervical cancer receiving brachytherapy.
Keywords: Attitude, Practices, Cervical cancer, , brachytherapy
