Awareness of head and neck cancers at a regional referral hospital in Tanzania

Abstract

Background Head and neck cancers (HNCs) are considered to be lethal and about 50% of the cases are diagnosed at advanced stages thus are associated with poor prognosis. Despite the high disease burden globally, there are scarce studies on awareness on HNCs and this is the first study in Tanzania to explore such awareness. Methods A hospital based cross sectional study was conducted at Geita Regional Referral Hospital from April to May 2022. Convenient sampling technique was utilized and data was collected using semi-structured questionnaires and analyzed using Statistical Package for Social Sciences (SPSS) version 23. P-value < 0.05 was considered to be statistically significant. Results More than half (54.9%) of the respondents considered themselves to be somewhat knowledgeable on head neck cancers. In the same study, 56.2% of the respondents didn’t know anatomical sites of head and neck cancers and over half (65.9%) of the respondents didn't know signs and symptoms of head and neck cancers. Cigarette smoking (73.7%) and alcohol consumption (65.1%) were the most correctly identified risk factors for HNCs. Regarding treatment options and preventive measures, 75.2% of the respondents knew cessation of cigarette smoking as a preventive measure for HNCs and surgery (91.7%) was the most known treatment option for head and neck cancers. Similarly, a significant association was found between knowledge on HNCs and some of the socio-demographic characteristics of the respondents. Conclusion Although majority of respondents considered themselves to be somewhat knowledgeable on HNCs, overall awareness on anatomic sites, clinical features, risk factors, preventive measures and curability of head and neck cancers at the Regional Referral Hospital seems minimal.