TITLE:
Five Clinical Vignettes on the Psychosocial Experiences of Patients with Terminal Digestive Cancer and Palliative Care in Abidjan
AUTHORS:
Bla Désirée Sandrine Ziketo, Sinényélédiama Françoise Soro, Koffi Paulin Konan, Samuel Brahim Traoré, Yessonguilana Jean-Marie Yeo-Tenena
KEYWORDS:
Terminal Digestive Cancer, Palliative Care, Psychosocial Experience
JOURNAL NAME:
Open Journal of Social Sciences,
Vol.13 No.12,
December
23,
2025
ABSTRACT: Terminal digestive cancer poses complex challenges for patients, their loved ones, and caregivers. This was a qualitative, prospective, descriptive study conducted on five patients with terminal digestive cancer in the general and endocrine surgery department of the Treichville University Hospital. Its objective was to describe their psychosocial experiences. The results of the study highlighted difficulties related to medical care. These difficulties mainly boiled down to the lack of palliative care for these types of patients. As palliative care is an integral part of medical, psychological, and social care, its absence in follow-up care has a negative impact on the psychosocial experiences of our respondents. On the other hand, our results also showed the existence of a number of worrying psychological states and social situations among our patients. However, a lack of psychological, social, and spiritual support was noted in the care of these patients and their families. This situation also exacerbates the already fragile psychosocial experience. In short, the absence of palliative care combined with a lack of psychological, social, and spiritual support are factors that negatively influence the psychosocial experience of patients in the terminal phase of digestive cancer. This study advocates for a holistic approach that includes all these aspects in order to better support patients with terminal digestive cancer and their caregivers during this phase of life.