Total Delay for Treatment among Cancer Patients: a Theory-guided Survey in China

Purpose: This study aimed at exploring treatment delay (TD) among cancer patients in China with an attempt to develop a practical methodology facilitating frontline Chinese clinicians in promoting earlier cancer diagnosis and treatment. Materials and Methods: The study comprised framework development, qualitative interviews and paired factor rating. Framework development utilized systematic literature review, soft systems thinking and consensus groups. Qualitative interviews employed a checklist of open questions soliciting information about all the domains included the framework from cancer patients drawn via stratified randomized sampling of inpatients at 10 hospitals in Hefei, China. Paired factor rating used a self-developed computer aid and the interviewed patients as referring cases to weigh the relative importance of the factors listed in the framework in terms of their contributions to specific components of total delay (TD). Results: a) A conceptual framework was proposed consisting of a 6-step path to TD and 36 category determinants. b) A total of 227 patients were interviewed; their TD was 267.3 mean or 108 median days ranging from 0 to 2475 days; average appraisal, illness, behavioral, preparation and treatment delay accounted for 52.1%, 9.4%, 0.30%, 8.8% and 29.4% of the TD respectively. Individual side factors were rated substantially more important than environmental side factors (60% vs. 40%); most influential TD factors included cancer symptoms, overall health, family relations and knowledge about cancer and health. Conclusions: The framework proposed together with the interviewing and rating approaches used provide a potential new methodology for understanding cancer patients' TD and promoting earlier cancer treatment.