Appraisal of Adequate Nutritional Knowledge and Related Sociodemographic Factors among Cancer Patients

Abstract

Objective: To assess nutritional knowledge among cancer patients.
Material and Method: It was a cross sectional descriptive study conducted at Ittefaq hospital, affiliated with
Sharif Medical and Dental College, Lahore from 6th November,2021 to 6th May,2022. 192 cancer patients
aged 15-70 years were selected by non-probability convenient sampling technique.
Results: The mean age of sample population was 43.46±15.257 years. Out of 192 participants, 56.3% of partici-
pants were females. About 25% of participants were illiterate. Majority of participants had monthly family
income ranging from 25,000 to 50,000 rupees. Participants were undergoing various treatment modalities with
the highest percentage (88%) of patients receiving chemotherapy. About 78% of participants had adequate
nutritional knowledge. Participants had poor knowledge regarding diet disease relationship, role of snacking
and amount of fat in egg. We found statistically significant association between nutritional knowledge and
education, monthly income, and treatment modality.
Conclusion: In the study, more than two thirds of participants had adequate nutritional knowledge.
Treatment modality, monthly income, and education level were observed as major determinants of nutrition-
related knowledge.