Psychological Distress, Anxiety, And Depression Of Men Living With Prostate Cancer In Windhoek

ABSTRACT 

The study employed a correlational survey research design. The study aimed at understanding the relationship between psychological distress, anxiety and depression among men (N=64) suffering from prostate cancer. Participants were conveniently sampled from the following institutions: the Dr. A. Bernard May Cancer Care Centre and the Namibian Oncology Centre (NOC). A self-designed a socio-demographic questionnaire, the Hospital Anxiety and Depression Scale (HADS) and three Emotional Thermometers (ET) were used for this study. The data was analysed using the Statistical Package for Social Sciences (SPSS). This study used bivariate correlations to explore the various relationships between the three variables and the socio-demographic characteristics of the participants. The psychological effects of prostate cancer on men living with prostate cancer were found to be statistically significant. Out of the men living with prostate cancer, 50% reported experiencing moderate to severe levels of anxiety, 20.3% experienced moderate to severe levels of depression and 32.8% experienced moderate to severe levels of distress. A significant strong positive correlation was found between anxiety and depression (r = 0.75, n=64, p > .01). There was also a significant moderate positive correlation between anxiety and distress (r = 0.56, n=64, p > .01). There was a moderate positive between depression and distress (r = 0.39, n=64, p > .01). These findings were found to be consistent with the reported psychological experiences of men living with prostate cancer globally. In conclusion, it is recommended that future studies in Namibia follow a qualitative research design in order to gain in depth information on the exact experiences of men living with prostate cancer as well as the barriers that currently exist that prevent them from seeking psychological help.