A Systematic Review of Barriers to Breast Cancer Care in Developing Countries Resulting in Delayed Patient Presentation
Joint Authors
Shulman, Lawrence N.
Meara, John G.
Sharma, Ketan
Costas, Ainhoa
Source
Issue
Vol. 2012, Issue 2012 (31 Dec. 2012), pp.1-8, 8 p.
Publisher
Hindawi Publishing Corporation
Publication Date
2012-08-22
Country of Publication
Egypt
No. of Pages
8
Main Subjects
Abstract EN
Background.
Within the developing world, many personal, sociocultural, and economic factors cause delayed patient presentation, a prolonged interval from initial symptom discovery to provider presentation.
Understanding these barriers to care is crucial to optimizing interventions that pre-empt patient delay.
Methods.
A systematic review was conducted querying: PubMed, Embase, Web of Science, CINAHL, Cochrane Library, J East, CAB, African Index Medicus, and LiLACS.
Of 763 unique abstracts, 122 were extracted for full review and 13 included in final analysis.
Results.
Studies posed variable risks of bias and produced mixed results.
There is strong evidence that lower education level and lesser income status contribute to patient delay.
There is weaker and, sometimes, contradictory evidence that other factors may also contribute.
Discussion.
Poverty emerges as the underlying common denominator preventing earlier presentation in these settings.
The evidence for sociocultural variables is less strong, but may reflect current paucity of high-quality research.
Conflicting results may be due to heterogeneity of the developing world itself.
Conclusion.
Future research is required that includes patients with and without delay, utilizes a validated questionnaire, and controls for potential confounders.
Current evidence suggests that interventions should primarily increase proximal and affordable healthcare access and secondarily enhance breast cancer awareness, to productively reduce patient delay.
American Psychological Association (APA)
Sharma, Ketan& Costas, Ainhoa& Shulman, Lawrence N.& Meara, John G.. 2012. A Systematic Review of Barriers to Breast Cancer Care in Developing Countries Resulting in Delayed Patient Presentation. Journal of Oncology،Vol. 2012, no. 2012, pp.1-8.
https://search.emarefa.net/detail/BIM-447363
Modern Language Association (MLA)
Sharma, Ketan…[et al.]. A Systematic Review of Barriers to Breast Cancer Care in Developing Countries Resulting in Delayed Patient Presentation. Journal of Oncology No. 2012 (2012), pp.1-8.
https://search.emarefa.net/detail/BIM-447363
American Medical Association (AMA)
Sharma, Ketan& Costas, Ainhoa& Shulman, Lawrence N.& Meara, John G.. A Systematic Review of Barriers to Breast Cancer Care in Developing Countries Resulting in Delayed Patient Presentation. Journal of Oncology. 2012. Vol. 2012, no. 2012, pp.1-8.
https://search.emarefa.net/detail/BIM-447363
Data Type
Journal Articles
Language
English
Notes
Includes bibliographical references
Record ID
BIM-447363