Psychological Distress and Health-Seeking Behaviour Among Patients with Orofacial Tumour: The Ghanaian Perspective

Orofacial tumour (OFT) results in severe physical and psychological pains that affect daily functions of patients. The study assessed the level of psychological distress and health-seeking behaviour (HSB) among patients with orofacial tumours (OFT). A survey with cross-sectional design was adopted for this study. A sample of 272 comprising 143 patients with OFT and 129 patients with general periodontal diseases who served as a comparison group aged between 18 and 83 years were purposively selected from three tertiary hospitals in Accra. Data were collected via self-administered structured questionnaires. The results of the study using regression analyses indicated that the type of condition significantly predicted psychological distress among patients. The result also showed that the level of psychological distress among patients with OFT was significantly higher than that of the patients with periodontal diseases. Additionally, spirituality was found to be the most significant predictor of HSB. Spirituality emerged as one of the key determinants of health-seeking behaviour and also a major coping tool for the patients. Factors that influence health-seeking among patients including spirituality have to be effectively integrated into educating the public on the dangers of OFT and early health-seeking.