Preventing hepatocellular carcinoma in Egypt: results of a Pilot Health Education Intervention Study

Abstract

BackgroundHepatocellular carcinoma (HCC), one of the most fatal malignancies, is particularly prevalent in Egypt, where we previously found deficiencies in knowledge concerning HCC and its risk factors. Hepatitis B and C viral infections are highly prevalent in Egypt, pesticides are very commonly used, and diets are often contaminated by aflatoxin, especially in rural areas.MethodsWe conducted a study to pilot test a health education intervention addressing HCC, its risk factors, and its main modes of prevention. It included four health education modules: HCC, hepatitis viruses, pesticides and aflatoxin. We used a pre- and post-intervention set of questionnaires to assess knowledge gained by the participants.ResultsA total of 25 participants from a village in the Nile Delta area attended the health education session and completed the questionnaires. The education intervention significantly increased the participants’ knowledge on HCC and its risk factors, particularly regarding the use of pesticides at home and aflatoxin contaminated foods (both p < 0.05). Overall, there was a 12 % increase in the number of participants who believed that HCC could be prevented, and they reported their intention to practice prevention for HCC risk factors.ConclusionsWe found that the education intervention we pilot tested was feasible and proved effective in increasing participants’ knowledge. Future efforts should focus on implementing targeted education programs in high-risk populations in Egypt.

Effect of health education intervention on hepatocellular carcinoma risk factor prevention in Menoufia governorate, Egypt

“…It also was effective in decreasing percent of poor knowledge about aflatoxins from 58.1% pre-intervention to1.1% post-intervention and in increasing percent of good knowledge score groups about aflatoxins from 41.9% pre-intervention to 98.9% postintervention, and this effect was statistically highly significant and was effective in decreasing percent of poor total knowledge about HCC and its risk factor prevention from 26.3% pre-intervention to 0% postintervention and in increasing percent of good total knowledge about HCC and prevention of its risk factors from 73.7% pre-intervention to 100% post-intervention, and this effect was statistically highly significant. This was in agreement with Saleh [14] who studied the effect of a pilot health education intervention about HCC prevention in Egypt and found that study participants had poor knowledge about HCC and its risk factors, and the health education intervention raised the knowledge of study participants on HCC and prevention of its risk factors.…”

“…Not applicable 1 Epidemiology and Preventive Medicine Department, National Liver Institute, Gamal Abdel Nasser Street, Shebein El-Kom, Menoufia, Egypt. 2 Clinical Pathology Department, National Liver Institute, Gamal Abdel Nasser Street, Shebein El-Kom, Menoufia, Egypt.…”

“…Hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC) arises from liver cells and constitutes about 90% of all primary liver cancer types [1]. HCC is an important public health problem worldwide especially in developing countries [2].…”

Environmental Health Research in Africa: Important Progress and Promising Opportunities

“…Daily urinary AFM1 levels have been shown to be useful as a biomarker of internal aflatoxin B1 exposure in short-term intervention trials to determine efficacy of interventions (Mitchell et al, 2013). Further application of knowledge to practice is currently underway with numerous intervention/prevention studies, clinical trials, and education (Wild and Gong, 2010;Hoffmann et al, 2015;Saleh et al, 2015). The comprehensive approach used to create many successful preventive interventions to reduce health risks associated with aflatoxin is a model for the development, validation, and application of biomarkers for other environmental exposures (Wogan et al, 2012).…”

Single Nucleotide Polymorphism in Cytokines and Risk of Hepatocellular Carcinoma in Egyptian Patients

“…Hepatitis C viral infections are highly prevalent in Egypt, pesticides are very commonly used, and diets are often contaminated by aflatoxin, especially in rural areas (Saleh et al, 2015). Human hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC) is a heterogeneous disease, driven by different risk factors and presenting diverse clinicopathological features and outcomes (De Ponti et al, 2015).…”