Kurdish Women’s Experiences of Health Care Needs with Breast Cancer: A Qualitative Interview Study From the Kurdistanregion of Iraq

Abstract

Purpose: Poor accessibility to health services, lack of sufficient health-related information, and problems
related to socioeconomic, infrastructural, geographical, and ethnic variations may lead to delayed diagnosis
and treatment of breast cancer. Through real experiences of women patients admitted in an oncology
department, we aimed to identify and better understand the health care needs that women with breast cancer
face during their treatment journey.
Method: The present qualitative study was carried out using inductive content analysis. Data was obtained
from 12 women in oncology departments in two different hospitals in the city of Erbil, in the Kurdistan
Region of Iraq. In-depth semi-structured interviews were conducted and thematic analysis of the collected
data resulted in the extraction of themes and subthemes.
Results: Analyzing the transcripts of the interviews revealed four main themes: Emotional, spiritual, and
psychological needs; Physical and body image change needs and Information needs
Conclusions: During their search for health care services, patients with breast cancer in the Kurdistan
Region of Iraq are faced with Understanding the phenomenon of ‘living with breast cancer’ seems to be
crucial for nurses to help women with breast cancer to find themselves in confronting the consequences of
the changes associated with the illness. That needs to be resolved in order to enable delivering of a higher
quality of health care to these patients.