a b s t r a c t
Purpose of the research: The purpose of the study was to explore what women living in Ga-Rankuwa in
Tshwane, South Africa know and understand about cancer as well as their health seeking behaviour
should they suspect that they might have cancer.
Methods and Sample: An exploratory, contextual, quantitative door-to-door survey was conducted. The
sampling method was convenient (n ¼ 565). Data were gathered by means of self-reports using structured
interviews.
Key Results: The study provided evidence that, despite all the interventions to teach the community
about cancer, women had a low level of knowledge and understanding of cancer. Cancer was seen as
something that primarily happens to the breast. There was no link between the perception of cancer and
the seriousness of the warning signs. It is doubtful if the woman, except for the possibility of a lump in
the breast, would recognize any sign of cancer and consider it to be serious. Women still needed to ask
permission to seek health-care and in some instances, the health care provider was chosen for them. Not
all women were prepared to spend money of their own health and some would even feel guilty should
they do so.
Conclusions: Women’s knowledge and understanding of cancer and health seeking behaviour related to
cancer do not facilitate early detecting and therefore the possibility to be cured. The fundamental
strategy of primary and secondary prevention of cancer, teaching the community, remains a challenge for
both nursing practice and nursing research.
| Identifer | oai:union.ndltd.org:netd.ac.za/oai:union.ndltd.org:tut/oai:encore.tut.ac.za:d1001724 |
| Date | 01 November 2009 |
| Creators | Maree, JE, Wright, SCD |
| Publisher | Elsevier |
| Source Sets | South African National ETD Portal |
| Language | English |
| Detected Language | English |
| Type | Text |
| Format | |
| Rights | c 2009 Elsevier Ltd. |
| Relation | European Journal of Oncology Nursing |
Page generated in 0.0021 seconds