Severity of Anxiety Among Cervical Cancer Patients in Referral Hospitals in Western Kenya

Abstract

Cervical cancer diagnosis may cause patients to experience anxiety since it is a life-threatening illness. The treatment of cervical cancer has side effects and complications that may worsen the anxiety experience at different levels. This study sought to determine the severity of anxiety among cervical cancer patients attending referral hospitals in Western Kenya. Data on severity of anxiety was obtained using Becks Anxiety Inventory (BAI), from 218 cervical cancer patients. Data was entered into SPSS version 23 and univariate and bivariate analysis were done. The study found that the participant with moderate symptoms of anxiety were the most at 34.4% as opposed to mild (26.6%) and severe anxiety (19.3%). Participants aged 40-49 years had higher symptoms of moderate anxiety (12.4%), mild anxiety (9.2%) and severe anxiety (8.3%) compared to other age groups. Those who responded to having primary level of education had a higher level of moderate anxiety (19.7%), mild anxiety (13.8%) and severe anxiety (13.3%) compared to participants with other levels of education. Married participants had the highest number of moderate anxiety (20.2%), mild anxiety (20.2%) and severe anxiety (13.8%) compared to participants of other marital status categories. Those who reported to have receive social support from family members had more symptoms of moderate anxiety (20.2%), mild anxiety (14.2%) and severe anxiety (10.1%) as compared to those who responded to not having received any social support and other social support categories. Anxiety was found to be more severe among participants who had a combination treatment of chemotherapy and radiotherapy with moderate anxiety at 16.1%, mild anxiety at 15.1%, and severe anxiety at 11.5% compared to those who had other forms of single treatments. This study concludes that levels of anxiety vary among cervical cancer patients hence the need for routine assessment during care and rehabilitation.