Publications by authors named "Thushari Hapuarachchi"
Objective: A Universal Health Coverage goal is to provide access to affordable palliative care to reduce disparities in end-of-life (EOL) outcomes. To assess progress toward this goal in Sri Lanka, our primary aim was to systematically assess differences in patients' physical, psychological, social and spiritual outcomes, and their perceived quality of care by their socioeconomic status (SES).
Methods: As part of the multi-country APPROACH (Asian Patient Perspectives Regarding Oncology Awareness, Care and Health) study, we surveyed 199 patients with a stage IV solid malignant tumor and aged >21 years from the largest government cancer hospital in Sri Lanka.
Article Synopsis
- The study investigates palliative care (PC) awareness, utilization, and barriers among advanced cancer patients in low- and middle-income countries in Asia, revealing a low overall awareness rate of 30.8%.
- Higher education, better economic status, understanding disease severity, and severe pain are linked to increased awareness of PC services.
- Major barriers to utilization include ongoing anti-cancer treatment and insufficient information about PC, indicating a need for targeted efforts to improve awareness, particularly among disadvantaged groups.
Objectives: Perceived cancer-related stigma can affect mental health and potentially treatment choices for patients with cancer. Nevertheless, perceived stigma is not very well understood in Asia. This study investigated across six developing Asian countries: (1) the prevalence of perceived stigma among advanced cancer patients, (2) its risk factors, and (3) its association with patient treatment preferences.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFWe investigated 1) perceived roles in decision-making among advanced cancer patients in 5 Asian countries 2) associations of patient characteristics with these roles, and 3) the association of perceived roles with quality of life and perceived quality of care. We surveyed 1585 patients with stage IV solid cancer. Multinomial logistic regressions were used to analyze associations of patient characteristics with decision-making roles.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFContext: Addressing symptoms of anxiety and depression is important in cancer palliative care. However, little information exists on the prevalence of anxiety and depression and mental health service use among advanced cancer patients in South Asia.
Objectives: To examine among South Asian advanced cancer patients, the 1) prevalence of high anxiety and depression scores, 2) factors associated with high anxiety and depression scores, and 3) mental health service use.
Background: A systematic understanding of socio-economic inequalities in end-of-life (EOL) suffering among advanced cancer patients is required to inform efforts to reduce these inequalities as part of Universal Health Coverage goals.
Aims: To assess inequalities in multiple domains of EOL suffering among advanced cancer patients - physical, functional, psychological, social, and spiritual -, using two socio-economic status (SES) indicators, education and perceived economic status of the household.
Methods: We used cross-sectional data from surveys of stage IV cancer patients (n = 1378) from seven hospitals across five countries (China, Sri Lanka, India, Vietnam and Myanmar).