Prevalence and Correlates of Depression and Anxiety Among Patients With Cervical Cancer at Cancer Treatment Centre, Kenyatta National Hospital

Abstract

Introduction Cancer of the cervix is one of the second and leading causes of cancer among women in Kenya According to previous study cervical cancer patients have an unusually high rate of depressive symptoms, and according to retrospective observational research, the rate of depression in these patients is 33%-71.3%. Depression also negatively impacts the quality of life of these patients. (Shyu et al., 2019). Aim: The study sought to find out the prevalence of depression and anxiety among cervical cancer patients. The study also identified the relationship between socio-demographic characteristics, depression, anxiety, and cervical cancer. Method: it was a cross-sectional descriptive study at the cancer treatment center, Kenyatta National Hospital in which 120 participants with cervical cancer were interviewed. Respondents were chosen using purposive sampling. HADS tool for assessing depression and anxiety and a socio-demographic questionnaire were used. Results: The mean age was 49.6, with the majority of the respondents were Christians, farmers, had primary and below the level of education with an income of less than 5000 ksh, and more than a half were married. According to clinical factors, most of the respondents were at stage II and III cervical cancer and were mainly on combined treatment. Most of the participants rated themselves as having poor quality of life and more than half were not satisfied with their health. The prevalence of both depression and anxiety was at 88%. For depression 15.8% mild, 45.8% moderate, and 25.8% severe, while anxiety 14.2% mild, 46.7% moderate, and 26.7% severe. Conclusion: Patients with cervical cancer, need early diagnosis and early treatment, and most importantly they need psychological and emotional support after diagnosis and during treatment.