Money Barriers Keep Jaw Cancer Patients From Helpful Prostheses in Kazakhstan

Researchers in Kazakhstan tested a new survey for jaw cancer patients. They translated an existing questionnaire into Russian and Kazakh. The process used forward translation and expert review. They also did a pilot test with real patients. One hundred four people took part after surgery for tumors in the upper jaw and palate.

The survey proved reliable. Internal consistency scored 0.878 which is high. Test-retest results showed strong agreement across all sections. Scores ranged from 0.904 to 0.983. All were statistically significant.

Patients struggled most with saliva and taste. Those areas got the lowest marks around 41 and 43 out of 100. People with advanced cancer or combined treatments fared worse physically and emotionally. Early stage patients doing single therapy reported better function.

Dental prostheses called obturators made a big difference. Users had much higher quality of life scores. Yet over half who needed them said no because of cost. Fifty five point six percent cited money as the main barrier.