Health care seeking behaviors and perspective on indigenous palliative care among cancer patients in Kenya

Providers' Competencies and Management Practices for Traditional Palliative Cancer Care Service Delivery in Kenya

Background

Many people in developing countries are struggling with chronic diseases yet traditional health services remain under-utilized in the quest for universal health care. Thousands patronize these outlets for care yet little is known about provider's competence and how these competencies inform palliative care decisions and practices. The study documented traditional health practitioners (THPs) competencies and practices for traditional palliative cancer care service delivery in Kenya.

Methods

This study utilized mixed-methods design and was undertaken in major towns across Kenya. A total of 201 Traditional health practitioners were purposely sampled, and interviewed. Five in-depth interviews and 6 focus group discussions were conducted. Quantitative data were analyzed using SPSSv22 while thematic and discourse analysis was carried out for qualitative data.

Results

Majority (92.7%) of the THPs provided general traditional health services. Nearly half of the respondents (47.7%, n = 92) stated that they had received their knowledge and abilities through divine gifting, 71 (36.8%) lineage, 61 (31.6%) apprenticeship, and 39 (20.2%) formal study. Palliative care was determined by patient state and followed consultation with caregivers for 165 (85.5%) of respondents. For 160 respondents (83%), management practices involved a mix of patient examination, conventional medical tests, herbal medicine administration, follow-up or referral. Positive feedback consisted of symptom reduction and function recovery.

Conclusion

Core competencies identified include: knowledge acquisition and specialization, assessment, diagnosis and disclosure, decision making, treatment, follow-up, and referral. Traditional palliative care providers share common health-related beliefs, practices and abilities that influence how they approach and make decisions regarding the health management of their patients, despite marked ethnic diversity. The shared pathways offer a chance to develop a cogent traditional palliative care service delivery model and health policy framework to promote its integration within the health workforce. The leading unmet requirements are knowledge of intellectual property rights, disclosure frameworks, and ethical regulation principles.

Determinants of Patient Satisfaction in Indigenous Cancer Palliative Care Services

Optimal quality of care remains an integral formal service along the continuum of care pathway. Patient satisfaction is an important health system responsiveness goal which has been shown to influence quality of care except in the indigenous settings. This study identified the determinants of patient satisfaction in the context of indigenous palliative care in Kenya. A descriptive cross-sectional study was conducted among cancer patients exiting indigenous care outlets located in 12 towns across Kenya using a structured modular questionnaire. Exit interviews were undertaken with 433 respondents leaving 193 mapped indigenous outlets. Overall services satisfaction was assessed as the dependent variable using a computed single-item satisfaction mean score. The data was analyzed using IBM Statistical Package for Social Sciences version 22. 0. Bivariate and multivariate analyses were conducted to identify the potential determinants. Against the 433 study respondents, 248 (57.3%) expressed overall satisfaction with indigenous palliative care services: Satisfaction was positively associated with waiting time (AOR = 2.663, 95% CI = 1.235-5.743), provider attention (AOR = 3.698, 95% CI = 1.657-8.254), provider politeness (AOR = 6.774, 95% CI = 3.697-12.413) and provider social communication skills (AOR = 6.520, 95% CI = 3.642-11.673). Good patient-provider interaction, provider social skills and service waiting time influence patient satisfaction with indigenous palliative care. The finding contributes to the understanding of indigenous palliative cancer care and provides scientific evidence for providers and policy makers to redesign and improve their service and outlet setting to provide patient centered holistic palliative care.

Providers' Understanding of Cancer Aetiology and Supportive Features for Indigenous Palliative Cancer Care Service Provision in Kenya

Background

Palliative care is a fundamental component of providing people-centred health services to cancer patients. However, the primary pillars of indigenous palliative care such as provider understanding of cancer, its aetiology, and features are undocumented.

Objective

We sought to understand Traditional Health Providers (THPs) understanding of cancer aetiology, and the functional features that support indigenous palliative cancer care service provision in Kenya.

Method

The study used a mixed methods cross-sectional design. A semi-structured questionnaire was administered to 193 THPs, who self-reported to manage cancer patients. The findings were enriched and validated through member checking in 6 focus group discussions and five journey mapping in-depth interviews.

Results

Despite diversity in culture and experience among the indigenous providers in Kenya, their description of cancer etiology and their management practices and primary goal were similar. Cancer was consistently described as a deadly life-deforming disease by 61.1% of THPs (n = 118/193) and attributed to chemicals and toxins in the body 41.5% (n = 80). The indigenous palliative-care system was reported to be characterized by five tiered levels of care, diversity in expertise and experience, shared and consultative process (60%) and family involvement in medical decision (59.5%). Herbal regimen (60.1%) was found to be the cornerstone of informal palliative care blended with nutrition management 78.2% (n = 151), lifestyle changes 63.7% (n = 123) and counseling services 55.9% (n = 108). Payments for service were arbitrarily made in cash or in kind.

Conclusion

The features of indigenous palliative care services are informed by the providers' distinctive cultural terms and descriptions of cancer and cancer aetiology. Shared and consultative protocols, regimen exchange, referral to cascaded care, and caregiver involvement were all important palliative-care clues to saving and enhancing lives. The features provide context for development of indigenous palliative care framework, engagement of policy makers, and promotion of culturally-inclusive indigenous palliative care model for adoption.