Factor associated with cannabis use behavior of Cancer patient in outpatient department Phatthalung hospital

Abstract

Background: Using cannabis for medical purposes is increasing worldwide. Cannabis is an alternative treatment for relieving symptoms in cancer patients.
Objective: To study factors associated with cannabis use in cancer patients in an outpatient department
Method: The current study was a case-controlled study on cancer patients who visited the Patthalung Hospital. The study sampled 188 cases and 188 controls (total 376) and collected data using a questionnaire from 1 September 2020 through 28 December 2020. Descriptive statistics were frequencies, percentages, mean and standard deviation. Backward stepwise logistic regression analysis was employed to identify factors associated with using cannabis
Results: Patients ' average age was 58.1 years (SD 11.7) and fifty percent were female. More than half of them had non solid organ cancer (59.04%) Factors associated with using cannabis were knowledge of cannabis (p-value 0.021), severity of cancer (p-value 0.012), cannabis suggestion from others (p-value <0.001), main decision-maker of treatment (p-value <0.001), type of cancer (p-value 0.002), education level (p-value 0.001), caregiver (p-value <0.001), and income per month (p-value 0.002).
Conclusion: Using cannabis in cancer patients depended on personal factors such as education, cannabis knowledge, income, type, and severity of cancer. Also, decision-makers of treatment, caregivers, and suggestions from others were related to using cannabis. These factors should be considered when planning medical cannabis policies in the future.