Cancer Awareness and Behavioral Determinants Associated with Cancer Prevention—a Quantitative Study Among Young Adults in Rural Settings

Liu, Xu; Odum, Mary

doi:10.1007/s13187-018-1342-8

Cited by 16 publications

(12 citation statements)

References 22 publications

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“…Smoking enjoyed worldwide high publicity as a cancer risk factor and it is interesting that adolescents were better at recognizing this risk factor than adults. However, except for smoking as a risk factor, general awareness rates were poor in this study compared to other studies, which showed proportions of 60-88% recognizing smoking, 21-50% recognizing 'eating less than five portions of fruit and vegetables a day' and around 30% recognizing the importance of exercise, compared to 76.7, 17.8 and 25.0% respectively in this study [18,22,29,41]. This discrepancy could be due to the fact that a number of awareness campaigns have been done on factors such as smoking, exercise and healthy diet in the localities of these other studies [27,40,[42][43][44].…”

Section: Discussioncontrasting

confidence: 92%

“…The school curriculum content might be reflected in the fact that more adolescents than adults knew that 'smoking' and 'eating less than five portions of fruit and vegetables a day' were risk factors for cancer, both of which are facts actually 'taught' at school. In most studies 'smoking' was the most commonly recognized risk factor [18,23,24,29,[39][40][41]. Smoking enjoyed worldwide high publicity as a cancer risk factor and it is interesting that adolescents were better at recognizing this risk factor than adults.…”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

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Knowledge level of cancer symptoms and risk factors in the Gaza Strip: a cross-sectional study

Elshami

Alshorbassi

et al. 2020

BMC Public Health

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Background: In low-income settings, cancer is often diagnosed in advanced stages due to late presentation. Good public awareness of cancer signs and symptoms has a positive impact on the time patients take before they present to healthcare professionals. Therefore, this study examined public knowledge of cancer signs and symptoms as well as risk factors in Gaza. Methods: This was a cross-sectional study. Participants were recruited from adult visitors (≥18 years) to governmental hospitals covering all five governorates of Gaza, and adolescent students (15 to 17 years) from 10 high schools in corresponding locations. An Arabic version of the Cancer Awareness Measure (CAM) was completed in a face-to-face interview. It described demographic data and knowledge of: cancer prevalence, age-related risk, signs and symptoms as well as risk factors both in recall and recognition questions. Results: Of 3033 participants invited, 2886 completed the CAM (response rate = 95.2%). Adult mean age ± standard deviation was 33.7 ± 11.7 years and that of adolescents was 16.3 ± 0.8 years. Half of the participants (n = 1457, 50.5%) were adolescent (781 females; 53.6%) and 1429 (49.5%) were adult (702 females; 49.1%). About two thirds (n = 1885) thought about cancer as unrelated to age. Only 196 participants (6.8%) identified colorectal cancer as the most common cancer among men. Awareness of cancer signs/symptoms was poor to fair, where 'lump' was most commonly recognized (n = 2227, 77.2%) and 'change of bowel habit' the least (n = 670, 23.2%). Only 217 participants (7.5%) had a good level of recognizing risk factors with 'smoking' being the most identified and 'eating less than five portions of fruits and vegetables a day' the least. There was a higher likelihood for adults to identify most cancer signs/ symptoms and risk factors than adolescents, except for recalling 'unexplained pain', 'persistent cough/hoarseness', 'nonhealing ulcer', 'smoking', and 'eating less than five portions of fruits and vegetables a day'.

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Section: Discussioncontrasting

confidence: 92%

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Knowledge level of cancer symptoms and risk factors in the Gaza Strip: a cross-sectional study

Elshami

Alshorbassi

et al. 2020

BMC Public Health

View full text Add to dashboard Cite

show abstract

“…Smoking enjoyed worldwide high publicity as a cancer risk factor and it is interesting that adolescents were better at recognizing this risk factor than adults. However, except for smoking as a risk factor, general awareness rates were poor in this study compared to other studies, which showed proportions of 60-88% recognizing smoking, 21-50% recognizing 'eating less than five portions of fruit and vegetables a day' and around 30% recognizing the importance of exercise, compared to 76.7%, 17.8% and 25.0% respectively in this study [18,23,30,43]. This discrepancy could be due to the fact that a number of awareness campaigns have been done on factors such as smoking, exercise and healthy diet in the localities of these other studies [28,42,[44][45][46].…”

Section: Discussioncontrasting

confidence: 93%

“…The school curriculum content might be reflected in the fact that more adolescents than adults knew that 'smoking' and 'eating less than five portions of fruit and vegetables a day' were risk factors for cancer, both of which are facts actually 'taught' at school. In most studies 'smoking' was the most commonly recognized risk factor [18,24,25,30,[41][42][43]. Smoking enjoyed worldwide high publicity as a cancer risk factor and it is interesting that adolescents were better at recognizing this risk factor than adults.…”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Knowledge Level of Cancer Symptoms and Risk Factors in the Gaza Strip: A Cross-sectional Study

Elshami

Alshorbassi

et al. 2019

Preprint

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Background In low-income settings, cancer is often diagnosed in advanced stages due to late presentation. Good public awareness of cancer signs and symptoms has a positive impact on the time patients take before they present to healthcare professionals. Therefore, this study examined public knowledge and awareness of cancer signs and symptoms as well as risk factors in the Gaza Strip. Methods This was a cross-sectional study. Participants were recruited from adult visitors (≥18 years) to governmental hospitals covering all five governorates of the Gaza Strip, and adolescent students (15 to 17 years) from ten high schools in corresponding locations. Visitors to oncology departments were excluded. An Arabic version of the Cancer Awareness Measure (CAM) questionnaire was completed in a face-to-face interview. It described demographic data and knowledge of: cancer prevalence, age-related risk, signs and symptoms as well as risk factors both in recall and recognition questions. Results A total of 2886 participants (out of 3033; response rate= 95.2%) with a mean age of 24.9±11.9 years, completed the questionnaire, including 1457 (50.5%) adolescents (781 females; 53.6%) and 1429 (49.5%) adults (702 females; 49.1%). About two thirds (n= 1885) thought about cancer as unrelated to age. Only 196 participants (6.8%) identified colorectal cancer as the most common cancer among men. Awareness of cancer signs/symptoms was poor to fair, where ‘lump’ was most commonly recognized (n= 2227, 77.2%) and ‘change of bowel habit’ the least (n= 670, 23.2%). Only 217 participants (7.5%) had a good level of recognizing risk factors with ‘smoking’ being the most identified and ‘eating less than five portions of fruits and vegetables a day’ the least. Adults were persistently better at identifying most cancer signs/symptoms and risk factors than adolescents, except for recalling ‘unexplained pain’, ‘persistent cough/hoarseness’, ‘non-healing ulcer’, ‘smoking’, and ‘eating less than five portions of fruits and vegetables a day’. Conclusion Public awareness of cancer signs/symptoms and risk factors needs to improve in Gaza to facilitate early presentation and diagnosis. Combining the delivery of public campaigns with tailored education to population groups, including the youth, may increase their knowledge and maintain its impact and sustainability.

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“…However, studies demonstrate that adolescents are not well informed about cancer risk factors [4]. Current literature suggests that many adolescents and college students in the USA lack cancerpreventative knowledge and engage in cancer risk behaviors such as unhealthy diet, frequent alcohol consumption, and low physical activity [5,6]. In one study, only 49% of adolescents reported awareness of the human papillomavirus (HPV) vaccine and cervical cancer [7].…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Exploring Youth Perceptions About Cancer Prevention and Preferences for Education: a Qualitative Study

et al. 2021

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This study aimed to characterize adolescents’ perspectives on cancer and cancer prevention and to explore their preferences for cancer education. A total of 188 middle and high school students participated in 25 focus groups. Focus groups were led by study team members and included five to ten participants each. Adolescents were asked to discuss their cancer and cancer prevention knowledge, sources of cancer education, and preferences for cancer prevention education. Focus groups were audio-recorded, and professionally transcribed. Transcripts were content and thematically analyzed by two study team members using NVivo qualitative data software. Six themes were identified in focus groups: knowledge about cancer, negative perceptions of cancer, awareness of cancer prevention, engagement in cancer prevention, facilitators and barriers for action, and preferences for cancer education. Adolescents described a wide range of cancer education sources, including friends, family, healthcare professionals, school, technology, and pamphlets. Participants associated cancer with negative emotions, such as sadness and fear. Participants expressed interest in learning about cancer and cancer prevention, but also identified barriers to engaging in preventative behaviors, such as discomfort, lack of knowledge, and lack of personal connection to cancer. Adolescents preferred learning through personal presentations, online videos, school, educational games, and social situations. Adolescence is a critical period for learning and developing healthy behaviors. Awareness of cancer and cancer prevention is crucial to lowering cancer risk in the future. To be effective, cancer education for adolescents should target specific areas of cancer prevention and address barriers to engagement in preventative behaviors.

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Cancer Awareness and Behavioral Determinants Associated with Cancer Prevention—a Quantitative Study Among Young Adults in Rural Settings

Cited by 16 publications

References 22 publications

Knowledge level of cancer symptoms and risk factors in the Gaza Strip: a cross-sectional study

Knowledge level of cancer symptoms and risk factors in the Gaza Strip: a cross-sectional study

Knowledge Level of Cancer Symptoms and Risk Factors in the Gaza Strip: A Cross-sectional Study

Exploring Youth Perceptions About Cancer Prevention and Preferences for Education: a Qualitative Study

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