Assessment of Patients’ Knowledge in Managing Side Effects of Chemotherapy: Case of King Abdul-Aziz University Hospital

Patients education about chemotherapy and its side effects is important. The health-related distress among the patients can be decreased by promoting self-care behaviors. A cross-sectional study was conducted at the King Abdul-Aziz University Hospital with 90 patients from the hospital’s oncology department in Jeddah during the period between December 2015 and January 2016. The study was performed by using a self-administered questionnaire among the sample of the study. Eight percent (n = 33) patients scored higher knowledge regarding chemotherapy and its side effects, while 11.1% (n = 8) had low knowledge. Moreover, 36.1% (n = 26) of patients reported complete compliance with the self-care behaviors to manage chemotherapy side effects, 43.1% (n = 31) reported partial compliance, and 20.8% (n = 15) reported less compliance. Physicians were reported as main source of information by 80.6% (n = 58) of their patients. Involving healthcare professionals in educating patients regarding chemotherapy can prove to have positive outcomes.