Patient knowledge, practices, and adherence to oral anticancer medicines: Evidence from oncology clinics, National Hospital, Galle, Sri Lanka

IntroductionOral anticancer medicines (OAMs) play an important role in cancer chemotherapy. As administration is either done by the patient or caregiver, proper knowledge, practices and adherence to OAMs are important.MethodsA cross-sectional study was conducted among 272 patients attending oncology clinics, National Hospital, Galle, Sri Lanka, using an interviewer-administered questionnaire to assess the knowledge, practices and adherence to the OAMs. The study was conducted from December 2023 to October 2024.ResultsMost participants were female (74.26%). The majority (91.54%) were 45 years or older. The most prescribed OAM was anastrozole (40.44%). All the participants knew the frequency of their OAMs. However, only 26.50% were aware of the names of the OAMs. Higher educational attainment showed a weak to moderate positive association with knowledge of OAM dosage regimens (r_s = 0.334, p < 0.001), while younger age displayed a weak negative association (r_s = -0.180, p = 0.003). Pharmacists were the major source of information (51.10%) on OAMs. The majority of participants (84.90%) reported visiting the emergency department in an accidental overdose. Discontinuation of OAMs was most often due to unavailability (62.75%). More than half of the participants demonstrated moderate adherence to OAMs (54.80%). In contrast, adherence demonstrated a weak positive association with older age (r_s = 0.162, p = 0.007), with no significant associations observed with education level or gender.ConclusionThe findings highlight the need for enhanced patient education and pharmacist-led counselling interventions to improve knowledge and adherence to OAMs among oncology patients.