Daya C Kuruppu, Chandrika N Wijeyaratne, Nalika Gunawardane, Indrani Amarasinghe
Asia-Pacific Journal of Oncology Nursing 7 (4), 375
Publication year: 2020

Objective:

This study assessed the information needs of breast cancer (BC) patients who presented themselves to the outpatient clinics or wards of the National Cancer Institute, Maharagama, Sri Lanka.

Methods:

Information needs were measured using the validated questionnaire in the vernacular (Sri Lankan Information Needs Assessment Questionnaire – BC).

Results:

All affected women indicated a strong need for information related to the disease, treatment, and psychosocial service while the need for information on procedures for diagnosis and physical care was not strong. Younger women (age ≤37) (P < 0.0001) and women with higher education (P < 0.0001) had significantly higher information needs.

Conclusions:

The results indicated that information needs to be addressed in educational packages require that younger women and those with higher education have specific needs.