Home / Current Issue / Paper 1719607
Information Sources on Radiotherapy Among Cancer Patients Attending the Oncoclinic, University of Nigeria Teaching Hospital (Unth), Enugu, Nigeria
Subject area: Biological & Medical Sciences · Area of research: Radiotherapy
DOI: https://doi.org/10.64388/IREV10I1-1719607
Abstract
Patients' information sources shape how they understand and respond to radiotherapy, yet in many Nigerian oncology settings the channels through which patients actually learn about treatment remain poorly documented. This study identified the main sources of information through which cancer patients learn about radiotherapy at the Oncoclinic, University of Nigeria Teaching Hospital (UNTH), Enugu. A descriptive cross-sectional design was adopted, and a structured questionnaire was administered to 110 cancer patients undergoing radiotherapy, selected by simple random sampling. Data were analysed using descriptive statistics (frequencies, percentages, and means) with the aid of SPSS version 25.0. The results showed that doctors were the first source of information about radiotherapy for the majority of respondents (85.5%), while health professionals generally were identified as the most trusted source of information (90.0%). Over half of the respondents (53.6%) strongly agreed that health professionals explained radiotherapy clearly, and 46.4% disagreed that social media increased their fear of radiotherapy. Despite this, a majority (57.3%) still indicated a desire for more education about radiotherapy. The study concludes that healthcare professionals, particularly doctors, dominate as the primary and most trusted channel of radiotherapy information at UNTH, a pattern that likely underlies the good knowledge and low-risk perception observed among these patients. It is recommended that structured, continuous patient education programmes be strengthened to consolidate this advantage and further reduce reliance on informal or unverified sources.
Keywords
Cancer Patients, Health Education, Information Sources, Radiotherapy, UNTH Enugu.
References
[1] Carpenter, C.J. (2010) 'A Meta-Analysis of the Effectiveness of Health Belief Model Variables in Predicting Behavior', Health Communication, 25(8), pp. 661–669. Available at: https://doi.org/10.1080/10410236.2010.521906.
[2] Gillan, C. et al. (2014) 'Fears and Misperceptions of Radiation Therapy: Sources and Impact on Decision-Making and Anxiety', Journal of Cancer Education, 29(2), pp. 289–295. Available at: https://doi.org/10.1007/s13187-013-0598-2.
[3] Ibe, I.U. and Chikenzie, O. (2024) 'Assessment of the Attitude and Perceptions to Radiotherapy by Patients with Previous Exposure in Aba, South Eastern Nigeria', Quest Journals Journal of Medical and Dental Science Research, 11(7), pp. 37–44. Available at: www.questjournals.org.
[4] Jones, C.L. et al. (2015) 'The Health Belief Model as an Explanatory Framework in Communication Research: Exploring Parallel, Serial, and Moderated Mediation', Health Communication, 30(6), pp. 566–576. Available at: https://doi.org/10.1080/10410236.2013.873363.
[5] Soko, G.F. et al. (2019) 'Public awareness and perceptions of radiotherapy and their influence on the use of radiotherapy in Dar es Salaam, Tanzania', Journal of Global Oncology, 2019(5), pp. 1–10. Available at: https://doi.org/10.1200/JGO.19.00175.
[6] Thariat, J. et al. (2013) 'Past, present, and future of radiotherapy for the benefit of patients', Nature Reviews Clinical Oncology, 10(1), pp. 52–60. Available at: https://doi.org/10.1038/nrclinonc.2012.203.
How to cite this paper
@article{1719607,
author = {Okeke Chimaobi Augustine, Sylvester Kelechi Kenneth , Owoh Solomon Uchenna},
title = {Information Sources on Radiotherapy Among Cancer Patients Attending the Oncoclinic, University of Nigeria Teaching Hospital (Unth), Enugu, Nigeria},
journal = {Iconic Research And Engineering Journals},
year = {2026},
volume = {10},
number = {1},
pages = {980-984},
issn = {2456-8880},
url = {https://www.irejournals.com/formatedpaper/1719607.pdf},
abstract = {Patients' information sources shape how they understand and respond to radiotherapy, yet in many Nigerian oncology settings the channels through which patients actually learn about treatment remain poorly documented. This study identified the main sources of information through which cancer patients learn about radiotherapy at the Oncoclinic, University of Nigeria Teaching Hospital (UNTH), Enugu. A descriptive cross-sectional design was adopted, and a structured questionnaire was administered to 110 cancer patients undergoing radiotherapy, selected by simple random sampling. Data were analysed using descriptive statistics (frequencies, percentages, and means) with the aid of SPSS version 25.0. The results showed that doctors were the first source of information about radiotherapy for the majority of respondents (85.5%), while health professionals generally were identified as the most trusted source of information (90.0%). Over half of the respondents (53.6%) strongly agreed that health professionals explained radiotherapy clearly, and 46.4% disagreed that social media increased their fear of radiotherapy. Despite this, a majority (57.3%) still indicated a desire for more education about radiotherapy. The study concludes that healthcare professionals, particularly doctors, dominate as the primary and most trusted channel of radiotherapy information at UNTH, a pattern that likely underlies the good knowledge and low-risk perception observed among these patients. It is recommended that structured, continuous patient education programmes be strengthened to consolidate this advantage and further reduce reliance on informal or unverified sources.},
keywords = {Cancer Patients, Health Education, Information Sources, Radiotherapy, UNTH Enugu.},
month = {July},
doi = {https://doi.org/10.64388/IREV10I1-1719607}
}