IDEAS home Printed from https://ideas.repec.org/a/gam/jijerp/v19y2022i4p1918-d745064.html
   My bibliography  Save this article

Improving Timely Access to Diagnostic and Treatment Services for Lung Cancer Patients in KwaZulu-Natal, South Africa: Priority-Setting through Nominal Group Techniques

Author

Listed:
  • Buhle Lubuzo

    (Discipline of Public Health Medicine, School of Nursing and Public Health, University of KwaZulu-Natal, Durban 4001, South Africa)

  • Khumbulani W. Hlongwana

    (Discipline of Public Health Medicine, School of Nursing and Public Health, University of KwaZulu-Natal, Durban 4001, South Africa)

  • Themba G. Ginindza

    (Discipline of Public Health Medicine, School of Nursing and Public Health, University of KwaZulu-Natal, Durban 4001, South Africa)

Abstract

Background: Lung cancer is the most common cancer worldwide, and it disproportionately affects low-income countries (LICs), where over 58% of cases occur. It is an important public health concern, given its poor healthcare outcomes, yet it is under-researched compared to other cancers. Lung cancer is also very difficult for primary care physicians to diagnose. In many settings, health researchers and clinicians’ resort to engaging in collaborative efforts to determine the best way to implement evidence into routine clinical practice. Methods: This was a grounded theory study comprising seven experts providing oncological services. A Nominal Group Technique (NGT) was used to articulate ideas, identify key problems and reach consensus on the order of priorities for the identified problems. Results: The study findings revealed that access to healthcare facilities providing oncology services and diagnosis was the major barrier to lung cancer care. This was further exacerbated by the manner in which health systems are configured in South Africa. The priorities for the health providers were focused on the lack of specialized resources, whereby referral of patients suspected to have lung cancer was delayed and compounded by the limited availability of treatment. Conclusion: The inadequacy of supportive systems for access to healthcare services negates the government efforts to curb the rising lung cancer-related fatalities in South Africa.

Suggested Citation

  • Buhle Lubuzo & Khumbulani W. Hlongwana & Themba G. Ginindza, 2022. "Improving Timely Access to Diagnostic and Treatment Services for Lung Cancer Patients in KwaZulu-Natal, South Africa: Priority-Setting through Nominal Group Techniques," IJERPH, MDPI, vol. 19(4), pages 1-12, February.
    • Handle: RePEc:gam:jijerp:v:19:y:2022:i:4:p:1918-:d:745064
    as

    Download full text from publisher

    File URL: https://www.mdpi.com/1660-4601/19/4/1918/pdf
    Download Restriction: no
    File URL: https://www.mdpi.com/1660-4601/19/4/1918/
    Download Restriction: no
    ---><---

    References listed on IDEAS

    as
    1. Neely, Abigail H. & Ponshunmugam, Arunsrinivasan, 2019. "A qualitative approach to examining health care access in rural South Africa," Social Science & Medicine, Elsevier, vol. 230(C), pages 214-221.
    2. Kutzin, Joseph & Barnum, Howard, 1992. "How health insurance affects the delivery of health care in developing countries," Policy Research Working Paper Series 852, The World Bank.
    3. Maureen Joffe & Oluwatosin Ayeni & Shane Anthony Norris & Valerie Ann McCormack & Paul Ruff & Ishani Das & Alfred I Neugut & Judith S Jacobson & Herbert Cubasch, 2018. "Barriers to early presentation of breast cancer among women in Soweto, South Africa," PLOS ONE, Public Library of Science, vol. 13(2), pages 1-16, February.
    Full references (including those not matched with items on IDEAS)

    Citations

    Citations are extracted by the CitEc Project, subscribe to its RSS feed for this item.
    as


    Cited by:

    1. Buhle Lubuzo & Khumbulani W. Hlongwana & Themba G. Ginindza, 2022. "Lung Cancer Patients’ Conceptualization of Care Coordination in Selected Public Health Facilities of KwaZulu-Natal, South Africa," IJERPH, MDPI, vol. 19(21), pages 1-15, October.

    Most related items

    These are the items that most often cite the same works as this one and are cited by the same works as this one.
    1. Noah Kaiser & Christina K. Barstow, 2022. "Rural Transportation Infrastructure in Low- and Middle-Income Countries: A Review of Impacts, Implications, and Interventions," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 14(4), pages 1-48, February.
    2. Bogetic, Zeljko & Heffley, Dennis, 1993. "Reforming health care : a case for stay well health insurance," Policy Research Working Paper Series 1181, The World Bank.
    3. Nathanael Ojong, 2019. "Healthcare Financing in Rural Cameroon," Societies, MDPI, vol. 9(4), pages 1-12, November.
    4. Buhle Lubuzo & Khumbulani W. Hlongwana & Themba G. Ginindza, 2022. "Lung Cancer Patients’ Conceptualization of Care Coordination in Selected Public Health Facilities of KwaZulu-Natal, South Africa," IJERPH, MDPI, vol. 19(21), pages 1-15, October.
    5. Matthew Jowett, 2004. "Theoretical insights into the development of health insurance in low-income countries," Working Papers 188chedp, Centre for Health Economics, University of York.
    6. Hartley, Sarah & Ledingham, Katie & Owen, Richard & Leonelli, Sabina & Diarra, Samba & Diop, Samba, 2021. "Experimenting with co-development: A qualitative study of gene drive research for malaria control in Mali," Social Science & Medicine, Elsevier, vol. 276(C).
    7. Nomaxabiso Mildred Mooi & Busisiwe Purity Ncama, 2020. "Perceived needs of patients and family caregivers regarding home-based enteral nutritional therapy in South Africa: A qualitative study," PLOS ONE, Public Library of Science, vol. 15(2), pages 1-14, February.
    8. Yuan, Yaqi, 2021. "Public satisfaction with health care system in 30 countries: The effects of individual characteristics and social contexts," Health Policy, Elsevier, vol. 125(10), pages 1359-1366.

    Corrections

    All material on this site has been provided by the respective publishers and authors. You can help correct errors and omissions. When requesting a correction, please mention this item's handle: RePEc:gam:jijerp:v:19:y:2022:i:4:p:1918-:d:745064. See general information about how to correct material in RePEc.

    If you have authored this item and are not yet registered with RePEc, we encourage you to do it here. This allows to link your profile to this item. It also allows you to accept potential citations to this item that we are uncertain about.

    If CitEc recognized a bibliographic reference but did not link an item in RePEc to it, you can help with this form .

    If you know of missing items citing this one, you can help us creating those links by adding the relevant references in the same way as above, for each refering item. If you are a registered author of this item, you may also want to check the "citations" tab in your RePEc Author Service profile, as there may be some citations waiting for confirmation.

    For technical questions regarding this item, or to correct its authors, title, abstract, bibliographic or download information, contact: MDPI Indexing Manager (email available below). General contact details of provider: https://www.mdpi.com .

    Please note that corrections may take a couple of weeks to filter through the various RePEc services.

    IDEAS is a RePEc service. RePEc uses bibliographic data supplied by the respective publishers.