Treatment-seeking behaviour of nasopharyngeal cancer patients in Yogyakarta, Indonesia

Abstract

Introduction: Nasopharyngeal cancer ranks first among head and neck cancer. About 60-95% of nasopharyngeal cancer patients seek for treatment at advanced stage. Attitudes and behavior of cancer patients in choosing healthcare is affected by the level of socio-economic and cultural backgrounds. Surgery and treatment costs are also the reasons patients to late seek treatment. This study aims to explore what contributes the treatment seeking behavior of nasopharyngeal cancer patients. It conducted in the Yogyakarta, Indonesia. Methods: As many as 20 patients were interviewed using questionnaire. All interviews were done using Opencode 3.6. To ensure the data validity, triangulation approach, peer debriefing and thick description were done. Results: it showed that there are five factors that affect the patients in seeking treatment: disease perception, medical services perception, medical expenses, external support and assessment of treatment process. Conclusion: This study may help to design health education programs to raise public awareness of nasopharyngeal cancer.