Table 2.
Association of Various Factors with Patient Interval in Oral Cancer Patients (n= 261)
| Variables | ≤ 90 days n (%) |
> 90 days n (%) |
Unadjusted OR (95% CI) |
|---|---|---|---|
| Access and Pattern of Healthcare related factors | |||
| Pattern of medical consultation | |||
| Health screening at intervals | 37 (30.8) | 21 (14.9) | Reference |
| Medical consultation for illness | 53 (44.2) | 50 (35.5) | 1.662 (0.9-3.2) |
| Urgent medical care only | 30 (25.0) | 70 (49.6) | 4.111 (2.1-8.2) |
| Pattern of dental consultation | |||
| Dental screening at intervals | 10 (8.3) | 4 (2.8) | Reference |
| Dental consultation for illness | 54 (45.0) | 31 (22.0) | 1.435 (0.4-4.9) |
| Urgent dental care only | 56 (46.7) | 106 (75.20) | 4.732 (1.4-15.8) |
| First response to general health problem | |||
| Consult physician /health-worker | 57 (56.4) | 24 (24.0) | Reference |
| Home remedy/Herbal medicines | 27 (26.7) | 44 (44.0) | 3.870(2.0-7.6) |
| Medicines from store | 17 (16.8) | 32 (32.0) | 4.471(2.1-9.5) |
| Previous experience with cancer | |||
| Yes | 39 (32.2) | 24 (17.0) | Reference |
| No | 81 (66.9) | 117 (83.0) | 2.377(1.3-4.3) |
| Travel options to nearest healthcare facility | |||
| Single vehicle transport | 89 (74.2) | 83 (58.9) | Reference |
| Multiple vehicle transport | 31 (25.8) | 58 (41.1) | 2.006(1.2-3.4) |
| Distance to nearest healthcare facility | |||
| ≤ 3 kilometres | 58 (48.3) | 41 (29.1) | Reference |
| Above 3 kilometres | 62 (51.7) | 100(70. 9) | 2.282(1.4-3.8) |
| Time to reach nearest healthcare facility | |||
| ≤ 10 minutes | 36 (30.0) | 22 (15.6) | Reference |
| 11 – 30 minutes | 72 (60.0) | 83 (58.9) | 1.886 (1.0- 3.5) |
| 31 minutes and above | 12 (10.0) | 36 (25.5) | 4.909(2.1-11.4) |
| Current problem in oral cavity | |||
| Discussed present problem in oral cavity with someone before meeting HCP | |||
| Yes | 99 (82.5) | 81 (57.4) | Reference |
| No | 21 (17.5) | 60 (42.6) | 3.492 (1.96-6.2) |
| Reason for meeting HCP for current problem in oral cavity | |||
| Pain | 36 (30.0) | 62 (44.0) | 11.19 (4.3-29.0) |
| Discomfort to daily routine | 45 (37.5) | 73 (51.8) | 10.54 (4.1- 26.9) |
| Insistence by family/friends | 39 (32.5) | 6 ( 4. 3) | Reference |
| Cancer stage | |||
| Early (Stage 1&2) | 60 (50.0) | 23 (16.3) | Reference |
| Late (Stage 3&4) | 60 (50.0) | 118 (83.7) | 5.130 (2.9-9.1) |
| First response to the current problem in oral cavity | |||
| Ignored the symptoms | 54 (45.0) | 80 (56.7) | Reference |
| Tried local remedies | 27 (22.5) | 53 (37.6) | 1.325 (0.7-2.4) |
| Consulted Doctor | 39 (32.5) | 8 (5.7) | 0.138 (0.06-0.32) |
OR, Odds ratio; HCP, Healthcare Personnel