Nutrition Status and Quality of Life of Cancer Patients Undergoing Chemotherapy at Meru Teaching and Referral Hospital, Meru County, Kenya/
Nutrition Status and Quality of Life of Cancer Patients Undergoing Chemotherapy at Meru Teaching and Referral Hospital, Meru County, Kenya/ Lillian Kagwiria Kabuku - Meru, Meru University, 2025. - xiii,131p.
Includes Appendix and Reference
World Health Organization (WHO) reported that by the year 2022, cancer caused9.7million deaths and 20 million new cancer cases were diagnosed in the same period. It further infers that globally, cancer is the leading cause of death. According to GLOBOCAN 2022, cancer is the third cause of death in Kenya top being infectious diseases followed by cardiovascular diseases. Annual incidences of new cancer cases in the year 2022 were 44,726 with a mortality of 29,317 in the same year. The most
common cancers included breast cancer, prostate cancer, esophageal cancer and colorectal cancer. Studies have identified prevalence in diseases that are closely associated with malnutrition to frequently occur in patients with cancer. Identified prevalence rates have been established to range between 50%and 80%. This study investigated the nutrition status and quality of life (QoL) in cancer patients on chemotherapy. The study’s specific objectives focused on determination of the management practices of nutrition impact symptoms, assessment of nutritional status and assessment of quality of life of cancer patients undergoing chemotherapy at MeTRH. The study targeted patients attending Hemato-oncology clinic at Meru Teaching and Referral Hospital (MeTRH). The study employed a descriptive cross-sectional study design and the study used purposive sampling method. Data was collected using researcher administered questionnaires in an interview setting on target respondents. Collected data was then fed and analyzed using the R Statistical Software (Version4.3.0). The data presentation was done using descriptive statistics based on statistical parameters such as frequencies, mean and percentages. The findings of this study show that one hundred and twenty eight (52.03%) respondents reported that chemotherapy interfered with their food intake. Lack of appetite (67; 26.8%) and nausea/vomiting (144; 58.5%)were the highest reported forms in which chemotherapy interfered with food intake in this study. Findings of this study show that 18% of the study participants had poor quality of life (QoL). The findings of this study concludes that nutritional status of the cancer patients was poor as evidenced by the nutrition impact symptoms. This was attributed by the side effects of the chemotherapy treatment. There is therefore a need for interventions geared toward addressing nutrition status among cancer patients. This study recommends that healthcare professionals should be aware of the cancer patients under the risk of malnutrition early for proper intervention and follow ups during the treatment, and further research should be done to assess health workers knowledge on chemotherapy side effects, its managements, prevention and management of nutritional disorders.
RC271.D52.K3 2025