Reasons for treatment abandonment from questionnaires
| Characteristics | Category | n (%) | Reasons for treatment abandonment | P value* | |||
| Self-reported economic difficulty n (%) | Belief of incurability n (%) | Experience of severe side effects n (%) | Concern over long-term complications n (%) | ||||
| Father’s education† | ≤9 years | 33 (63.5) | 23 (69.7) | 4 (12.1) | 5 (15.2) | 1 (3.0) | 0.0026 |
| 10–12 years | 12 (23.1) | 3 (25.0) | 6 (50.0) | 3 (25.0) | 0 (0) | ||
| >12 years—university | 7 (13.4) | 1 (14.3) | 2 (28.6) | 2 (28.6) | 2 (28.6) | ||
| Mother’s education | ≤9 years | 44 (78.6) | 27 (61.4) | 7 (15.9) | 8 (18.2) | 2 (4.5) | 0.0068 |
| 10–12 years | 7 (12.5) | 2 (28.6) | 4 (57.1) | 1 (14.3) | 0 (0) | ||
| >12 years—university | 5 (8.9) | 0 (0) | 2 (40.0) | 1 (10.0) | 2 (40.0) | ||
| Father’s occupation† | Unemployed | 1 (1.9) | 1 (100) | 0 (0) | 0 (0) | 0 (0) | 0.3473 |
| Blue collar worker | 13 (25.0) | 7 (53.8) | 3 (23.0) | 2 (15.4) | 1 (7.8) | ||
| Farmer | 27 (51.9) | 17 (63.0) | 5 (18.5) | 4 (14.8) | 1 (3.7) | ||
| Small shop owner/vendor | 6 (11.5) | 1 (16.7) | 2 (33.3) | 3 (50.0) | 0 (0) | ||
| Office staff | 5 (9.6) | 1 (20.0) | 2 (40.0) | 1 (20.0) | 1 (20.0) | ||
| Mother’s occupation | Unemployed | 13 (23.2) | 6 (46.2) | 5 (38.5) | 2 (15.4) | 0 (0) | 0.0281 |
| Blue collar worker | 7 (12.5) | 5 (71.4) | 1 (14.3) | 0 (0) | 1 (14.3) | ||
| Farmer | 29 (51.8) | 18 (62.1) | 5 (17.2) | 5 (17.2) | 1 (3.4) | ||
| Small shop owner/vendor | 2 (3.6) | 0 (0) | 1 (50.0) | 1 (50.0) | 0 (0) | ||
| Office staff | 5 (8.9) | 0 (0) | 1 (20.0) | 2 (40.0) | 2 (40.0) | ||
| Annual family income (CN¥)‡ | >100 000 | 3 (5.4) | 1 (33.3) | 1 (33.3) | 0 (0) | 1 (33.3) | 0.0305 |
| 50 000–100 000 | 9 (16.1) | 3 (33.3) | 2 (22.2) | 2 (22.2) | 2 (22.2) | ||
| 30 000–50 000 | 24 (42.9) | 9 (37.5) | 8 (33.3) | 6 (25.0) | 1 (4.2) | ||
| <30 000 | 20 (35.7) | 16 (80.0) | 2 (10.0) | 2 (10.0) | 0 (0) | ||
| Type of residence/community | Urban | 11 (19.6) | 3 (27.3) | 4 (36.4) | 2 (18.2) | 2 (18.2) | 0.1234 |
| Rural | 45 (80.4) | 26 (57.8) | 9 (20.0) | 8 (17.8) | 2 (4.4) | ||
| Health insurance | Yes (coverage >50%) | 14 (25.0) | 5 (35.7) | 7 (50.0) | 1 (7.1) | 1 (7.1) | 0.0700 |
| Yes (coverage 31%–50%) | 16 (28.6) | 7 (43.8) | 2 (12.5) | 5 (31.2) | 2 (12.5) | ||
| Yes (coverage ≤30%) | 16 (28.6) | 10 (62.5) | 4 (25.0) | 1 (6.3) | 1 (6.3) | ||
| No | 10 (17.8) | 7 (70.0) | 0 (0) | 3 (30.0) | 0 (0) | ||
| Number of siblings | One | 21 (37.5) | 9 (42.9) | 6 (28.6) | 4 (19.0) | 2 (9.5) | 0.7183 |
| Two or more | 35 (62.5) | 20 (57.1) | 7 (20.0) | 6 (17.1) | 2 (5.7) | ||
| Family type | Both parents | 52 (92.9) | 27 (51.9) | 12 (23.1) | 10 (19.2) | 3 (5.8) | 0.4150 |
| Single parent | 4 (7.1) | 2 (50.0) | 1 (25.0) | 0 (0) | 1 (25.0) | ||
*P values were calculated by exact Χ2 test.
†In all four single-parent families, father’s education and occupation information was missing.
‡Report from the Shanghai Academy of Social Sciences in 2016 shows fewer than 40% of all households in China with an annual income below CN¥100 000.17