Health-Related Quality of Life of Prostate Cancer Patients Receiving Care in Tertiary Hospitals in Ogun State

Abstract

Prostate cancer is the commonest malignancy among males in Nigeria. Most prostate cancer cases in sub-Saharan Africa get diagnosed in its late stages – which is associated with poorer health-related quality of life (HRQoL). Meanwhile, HRQoL has been shown to be a strong predictor of survivorship; therefore, this study was conducted to examine the HRQoL among prostate cancer patients receiving care in tertiary hospitals in Ogun state. With the cross-sectional research design and sample size of 387 prostate cancer patients selected using purposive sampling technique, the FACT-P instrument was used in data collection. Descriptive statistics analysis was used to assess participants' HRQoL levels. Findings showed that prostate cancer patients in this region have an average health-related quality of life level; the physical wellbeing domain of participants health-related quality of life was most affected by prostate cancer, with physical wellbeing having the lowest mean score (M=14.66), followed by emotional wellbeing (M=15.57), functional wellbeing (M=17.7), and social wellbeing being the least affected (M=18.33). Tertiary hospitals should ensure the inclusion of psycho-oncology counselling and psychotherapy, into the treatment plan of all patients after a prostate cancer diagnosis to improve the emotional and psychological wellbeing of prostate cancer patients. Similarly, access to physical rehabilitation and physiotherapy should be made easily accessible to improve physical wellbeing among prostate cancer patients.