Head and neck cancer awareness: a survey of young people in international communities

Abstract

Head and neck cancer (HNC) is killing young people yearly. The knowledge of HNC risk factors and its symptoms among this population group may go a long way in HNC prevention among them. This study aims to: determine the level of awareness of HNC; determine the prevalence of HNC risk factors; and explore the knowledge of HNC risk factors, HNC symptoms, as well as family history of HNC among youth in the international communities (with focus on the Canadian and Nigerian youth). Methods A sample of 801 youth were surveyed using an e-questionnaire. The questionnaire obtained information from each participant about their: socio-demographic information; knowledge of HNC, its risk factors, and its manifestations; and family history of HNC. Data obtained from the participants were analyzed using the Statistical Analysis Software (SAS Version 9.4 for Windows). Results The majority (73%) of the surveyed youth (n=801) were residing in Nigeria, seven-tenths of them were between the age 18 and 24 years, and 53% were females. Less than 10% had a history of smoking, 7% were active smokers, and 24% had history of oral sex (of which 57% (108/109) of them had a lifetime history of more than one oral sexual partner). Around half (51%) of the participants had never heard of HNC before. Only 4% knew of a family member who had suffered/is suffering from HNC. Half of the participants were not sure whether HNC can manifest without initial complaint, pain, or symptoms. Only 9% of the participants erroneously believed that HNC is a contagious disease. Comparative analyses among subgroups revealed that a higher proportion of those participants who were: from Canada; young adults; and males generally knew about HNC when compared with the proportions recorded among those in the adolescents; females, and Nigerian participants’ categories. Lastly, 76% of the participants showed interest in knowing more about HNC. Conclusion The majority of the surveyed youth demonstrated poor knowledge of HNC. Also, a significant proportion of them are at risk of developing HNC disease in future, if they keep indulging in HNC risky behaviors. There exists the need to conduct community health education programs on HNC among youth in these surveyed communities.

Head and Neck Cancer Literacy in Nigeria: A systematic Review of the Literature

“…The included articles studied a diverse Nigerian population groups totaling 7,883 people. Two articles surveyed smokers (age range: 15 -64 years) [51,55], 2 surveyed dental patients (age of majority: 18 -64 years) [46,49], one surveyed traditional healers and herbalists (age range: 37 -72 years) [43], 6 surveyed secondary school students (age of majority: <18 years) [53,54,56,61,63], 1 surveyed school teachers (mean (±SD) age: 48.7 (± 5.94) years) [45], 5 surveyed tertiary school students (age of majority: 15 -30 years) [48,52,58,59,60,62], 1 surveyed youth (age of majority (91%): 12 -24 years) [57], and 3 surveyed health workers (age: >18 years) [44,47,50] (Table 6).…”

“…Only 16 (out of 21) articles determined the awareness rate of HNC/OC among their study participants. The awareness rates of HNC/OC, as recorded in these articles were diverse; the rate was 33.3% (OC) among traditional healers and herbalists [43], 35.5% (OC) among primary school teachers [45], 72.8 -100% (OC) among clinical science students [48,52], 47.5% (HNC) among secondary school students [54], 30.4% (HNC) among monotechnic freshmen in health science disciplines [58], 0 -84.5% (OC) among health personnel [44,50], 53.4% -66% (OC) among dental patients [46,49], 17.8% (HNC) among shisha smokers [55], and 49% (HNC) among the youth [57] (Tables 6 and 7).…”

“…A higher proportion of the male smokers knew of this risk factor when compared with their female counterparts Kanmodi et al, 2017 [52] a) The age of the majority (92.4%) of the surveyed nursing students ranged from 15 to 35 years b) The majority (72.8%, n=115) of them were aware of OC; lectures (52.2%), books (43.5%), and newspapers (20.0%) were the top three sources of information regarding OC among them. Furthermore, hereditary factors (33.3%), cigarette smoking (26.2%), and mouth sore (26.2%) were the three most commonly known OC risk factors among this category of respondents c) The three most commonly known OC symptoms among those respondents that were aware of oral cancer (n=115) were ulcer/sore (86.1%), mouth swelling/lump (74.8%), and soft tissue discoloration (64.3%) Kanmodi & Fagbule, 2018 [53] a) The mean (±SD) age of the studied secondary school students was 13.89 (±1.01) years b) HNC education significantly improved the mean knowledge scores of the studied subjects on HNC etiology/risk factors and HNC symptoms c) HNC education significantly increased the number of the subjects who showed willingness to educate their peers about HNC d) 92.2% of the studied subjects enjoyed the HNC education session -the intervention offered to them Kanmodi et al, 2018 [54] a) The majority (95.9%) of the surveyed secondary school students were aged ≤18 years b) Only 47.5% of the respondents had heard of HNC before c) The majority (81.8%) of the respondents would like to receive a comprehensive education on how to prevent HNC in future Kanmodi et al, 2019 [55] a) The mean (±SD) age of the surveyed shisha smokers was 25.8 (±5.5) b) Only 17.8% of the surveyed respondents had heard of HNC c) The majority (73.3%) of the respondents would like to receive a comprehensive education on HNC Lawal & Fagbule, 2019 [56] a) The mean (±SD) age of the surveyed school-going adolescents was 15.2 (±1.4) years b) Only 0.1% (2/1465) of the survey respondents knew that tobacco can cause OC Kanmodi et al, 2019 [57] a) The majority (91%) of the surveyed youths were within the age range of 12 -24 years b) Only 49% of the survey respondents had ever heard of HNC c) Among those respondents that were aware of HNC, 66% of them knew that HNC is not a contagious disease; 69% believed that early diagnosis improves recovery from head and neck cancer; 24% believed that HNC is more common among people aged >40 years d) The majority (76%) of the survey respondents were positively disposed towards knowing more about HNC disease Kanmodi et al, 2019 [58] a) The mean (±SD) age of the surveyed monotechnic freshmen was 22.04 (±3.42) years b) Only 30.4% of the surveyed respondents were aware of HNC; human papillomavirus (36.8%), smoking (23.5%) and poor tooth brushing (23.5%) were the top three HNC etiological/risk factors known to this category of respondents (i.e. those that were aware of HNC).…”

“…Also, 95% of their subjects reported that were enthusiastic toward attending the next HNC education program to be held in their school in future. The three surveys were conducted among youth, shisha smokers, and secondary school students by Kanmodi et al [57], Kanmodi et al [55], and Kanmodi et al [54], respectively. Majority (76%) of the surveyed youth were positively disposed towards knowing more about HNC disease; majority (73.3%) of the surveyed shisha smokers reported that they would like to receive a comprehensive education on HNC; and majority (81.8%) of the surveyed secondary school students would like to receive a comprehensive education on how to prevent HNC in future.…”

“…Furthermore, 39.7% (27/68) of them erroneously believed that HNC is a contagious disease while 16.2% (11/68) erroneously believed that early diagnosis of HNC does not improve recovery from HNC.Among Youth: Only one study specifically examined the knowledge of HNC risk factors and clinical features among the Nigerian youth. The study was conducted by Kanmodi et al[57]. In the study, only 66% of the surveyed youth whom were aware…”