Evidence map›Paper›PMID 38254083›Full record

ArticleBMC complementary medicine and therapies2024

Utilisation of traditional medicine among women diagnosed with breast cancer in Ghana: a descriptive phenomenological study.

Adwoa Bemah Boamah Mensah, Stella Baffour Asuo, Kofi Boamah Mensah, Joshua Okyere, Shalini Kulasingam, Beth Virnig, Joe-Nat Clegg-Lamptey

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Article in BMC complementary medicine and therapies, 2024. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. Cited by 6 papers, 1 of them a synthesis that pooled it.

0numbers the graph read from it
0cells of the map it votes in
6citing papers in PubMed, 1 pooled it
–field-weighted citation impact
1 · What the graph read from it

What it found

Each row is one number read from the abstract, on the scale the paper reported it, with its interval. Left of the dashed line favours the treatment, right favours the comparator. Under each row is the sentence it came from. New to these charts? A ten-minute tutorial.

The abstract states no effect estimate the extractor could read, or names no intervention and outcome on the map, so this paper lights no cell and moves no belief. It is still indexed, cited and linked below.

2 · The registry

The trial behind it

Trials whose registry record cites this paper, or whose number appears in the abstract. A trial that started after this paper was published is citing it as background, not reporting it.

Neither the registry nor the abstract names a trial number. If this is a trial report, that itself is worth knowing.

3 · Its place in the literature

Who cites it

6 citing papers in PubMed, 1 synthesis or guideline pooled it.

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4 · The record

Corrections and comments

PubMed lists nothing against this paper. Absence here is not a guarantee, only a check that was made.

5 · Who and what money

Authors and funding

7 authors.

Adwoa Bemah Boamah MensahDepartment of Nursing, College of Health Sciences, Kwame Nkrumah University of Science and Technology, Kumasi, Ghana.
Stella Baffour AsuoDepartment of Nursing, College of Health Sciences, Kwame Nkrumah University of Science and Technology, Kumasi, Ghana.
Kofi Boamah MensahDepartment of Pharmacy Practice, Faculty of Pharmacy and Pharmaceutical Sciences, College of Health Sciences, Private Mail bag, Kwame Nkrumah University of Science and Technology, University Post Office, Kumasi, Ghana.
Joshua OkyereDepartment of Nursing, College of Health Sciences, Kwame Nkrumah University of Science and Technology, Kumasi, Ghana. joshuaokyere54@gmail.com.
Shalini KulasingamDivision of Epidemiology and Community Health, University of Minnesota, Minneapolis, MN, USA.
Beth VirnigCollege of Public Health and Health Professions, University of Florida, Gainesville, FL, USA.
Joe-Nat Clegg-LampteyDepartment of Surgery, School of Medical Sciences, University of Ghana, Accra, Ghana.

Funding

No grant is acknowledged in the PubMed record.

6 · The paper itself

Abstract

backgroundWomen living with breast cancer (BC) rely on traditional medicine (TM) in addition to orthodox medicine. There is a need to understand how and why women diagnosed with BC utilise TM. This study explored and described the lived experiences of women living with BC in terms of their utilisation of traditional medicine.

methodsA descriptive phenomenology design was used to purposively conduct 20 face-to-face in-depth interviews using a semi-structured interview guide. Data were analysed using NVivo-12 based on Collaizzi's framework for thematic data analysis.

resultsOverall, five main themes emerged, namely: sources of knowledge on TM, motivations for using TM, treatment modalities, timing for the initiation of TM, the reasons for discontinuing use of TM, and the decision to seek orthodox medicine. Under the category of motivations for using TM, four themes emerged: financial difficulties and perceived cost effectiveness of TM, influence of social networks, including family and friends, assurance of non-invasive treatment, delays at the healthcare facility, and side effects of orthodox treatment. Non-invasive treatments included herbal concoctions, natural food consumption, and skin application treatments. Regarding the timing of initiation, TM was used in the initial stage of symptom recognition prior to the decision to seek orthodox medicine, and was also used complementarily or as an alternative after seeking orthodox medicine. However, patients eventually stopped using TM due to the persistence of symptoms and the progression of cancer to a more advanced stage, and disapproval by orthodox practitioners.

conclusionWomen living with BC in Ghana utilise traditional medicine (TM) for many reasons and report their family, friends and the media as a main source of information. A combination of herbal concoctions and skin application modalities is obtained from TM practitioners to treat their BC. However, they eventually discontinue TM when symptoms persist or when disapproval is expressed by their orthodox healthcare providers. We conclude that there is an opportunity to better integrate TM into the standard of oncological care for BC patients.

Indexed as

Breast NeoplasmsFemaleGhanaHealth PersonnelHumansKnowledgeMedicine, TraditionalBreast cancerGhanaHealth servicesQualitative studyTraditional medicineUtilisation

Identifiers

PMID38254083
PMCPMC10804505

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Read under generation 80e0d062 · epoch 390. Bibliography from PubMed, PubMed Central and OpenAlex; grants from NIH RePORTER; trial links from ClinicalTrials.gov; estimates, votes and beliefs from the OpenQuestion graph.