AWARENESS ABOUT THE ORAL CANCER AMONG UNDERGRADUATE STUDENTS OF ALLIED HEALTH SCIENCES IN PESHAWAR.

A UROOJ; . UZMA; A SAFDAR; MF  KHAN; M NUMAN

doi:10.54112/bcsrj.v2024i1.799

Authors

A UROOJ NCS University System Peshawar, Pakistan
. UZMA NCS University System Peshawar, Pakistan
A SAFDAR NCS University System Peshawar, Pakistan
MF KHAN IPMS-Khyber Medical University, Peshawar, Pakistan
M NUMAN Rehman Medical Institute (RMI), Peshawar, Pakistan

DOI:

https://doi.org/10.54112/bcsrj.v2024i1.799

Keywords:

Oral Cancer, Gutkha Chewing, Undergraduate Students, Awareness

Abstract

Oral cancer is a malignancy that affects the lips or oral cavity. Oral cancer causes about 20000 deaths worldwide. In Pakistan, it is the second most prevalent kind of cancer. The main obstacle to early diagnosis of oral cancer is the lack of information about oral cancer. Therefore, raising awareness among students is necessary and very helpful in controlling, early identification and prevention of oral cancer. Objective: To assess the level of awareness regarding oral cancer among undergraduate students. Methods. A descriptive cross-sectional study was carried out among undergraduate students of Allied Health Sciences Institutes in Peshawar. Data were collected from 312 undergraduate students through questionnaires. A convenient sampling technique was used for participant selection. Written informed consent was taken from all participants. Results: Out of 312 participants there were 124(39.7%) females and 188(60.3%) were males. About 65.7% were aware of oral cancer, and 71.2% were aware that oral cancer is due to alcohol drinking habits. 79.2% were aware that consumption of paan masala or guthka may cause oral cancer. 70.8% were aware that oral cancer is an infectious disease. Most of the students had poor knowledge regarding oral cancer as a disease of old age. Only 58.9% had information concerning the prevention of oral cancer. The majority of students were unaware of the treatment cost of oral cancer. More than half of the students (78.5%) were interested in information and education regarding oral cancer. Conclusion: The study concluded that students are decent or moderately aware. However, many lack basic knowledge regarding the initial signs and symptoms of oral cancer and its subsequent causes and effects, which could minimize the approach to overcoming the said problem.

Downloads

Download data is not yet available.

References

Rivera C. Essentials of oral cancer. Int J Clin Exp Pathol. 2015;8(9):11884–94.

Anirudh P, TY S, A S, S R. Assessment of Knowledge of and Attitude Toward Oral Cancer Among the Outpatient Population in a Tertiary Care Rural Hospital. Cureus. 2023;15(3):3–9.

Murugesan A, Sabarinath, Sivapathasundharam. Awareness of oral cancer among medical students in Chennai. J Med Radiol Pathol Surg. 2016;2:18–22.

Amin S, Rahman IU, Jan ZA, Saeed T, Tayyab TF, Amin J. Public Awareness and Knowledge of Oral Cancer and its Risk Factors in Lahore City, Pakistan. Pakistan J Med Heal Sci. 2022;16(4):746–9.

JMCJMS Awareness of Oral Cancer in a Community of. 2021;9:33–40.

Nagpal P, Bagla M, Mahajan R, Singh M, Sharma A, Ghoshal S, et al. Awareness of Oral Cancer among Residents of Chandigarh. 2023;(May):5–8.

Study O. ORAL CANCER AWARENESS AMONG THE GENERAL PUBLIC. 2020;8(2):13–9.

Alqahtani M, Nahhas A, Malibari L, Alghamdi M, Bazuhier S, Abdulrahman S. Awareness of Oral Cancer Among Dental Patients in Mecca , Saudi Arabia Abstract : 2020;369–74.

Limaye D, Ziesenis P, Limaye V, Ahmad M, Saeed F, Alam M, et al. Oral cancer awareness among university students from Karachi , Pakistan. 2019;

Alam BF, Anwar M, Nayab T, Azfar M, Shaikh P, Shakeel A, et al. Oral Cancer Awareness among Medical & Dental Students of Bahria University Medical and Dental College. 2018;27(04).

Al-maweri SA, Al-soneidar WA, Dhaifullah E, Halboub ES, Tarakji B. Oral Cancer : Awareness and Knowledge Among Dental Patients in Riyadh. 2015;

Vishma BK, Shashikantha SK, Sheethal MP, Muniyal AS. Awareness of oral cancer and its risk factors in a rural community. 2016;3(1):347–52.

Sari M. Assessing oral cancer awareness, attitude, and practice among Turkish dental students in 2020. J Oral Heal Oral Epidemiol. 2022;11(2):117–28.

Rai P, Goh CE, Seah F, Islam I, Chia-wei WW, Martin P, et al. Oral Cancer Awareness of Tertiary Education Students and General Public in Singapore. Int Dent J [Internet]. 2022;0:1–8. Available from: https://doi.org/10.1016/j.identj.2022.11.021

Seoane-romero AE gestal RB gonzález JM. Oral cancer awareness in Spain : A pilot study. 2018;(August 2017):124–7.

Wimardhani YS, Warnakulasuriya S, Subita GP, Soegyanto AI, Pradono SA, Patoni N. Public awareness of oral cancer among adults in Jakarta , Indonesia. 2018;(September):1–8.

Konduru R, Newtonraj A, Arun S, Velavan A, Singh Z. Oral cancer awareness of the general public in coastal village areas of Tamilnadu, India: a population based cross sectional study. Int J Community Med Public Heal. 2016;3(7):1932–9.

Kumar V, Patra S, Agrawal K. Oral cancer: general awareness, in-depth knowledge and associated biosocial factors. Int J Community Med Public Heal. 2018;5(2):639.

Prenit PK, Bandana K. Oral Cancer Awareness among Undergraduate Dental Students in Nepal. EC Dent Sci [Internet]. 2018;17:2175–8. Available from: https://www.ecronicon.com/ecde/pdf/ECDE-17-00856.pdf

Limaye D, Bhatkhande G, Sabu S, Jain A, Taskar P, Gupta U, et al. Oral cancer awareness among students from Mumbai University. Int J Basic Clin Pharmacol. 2018;7(7):1215.

Assiri Z, Alshehri A, Alfadhel A. Oral cancer awareness, knowledge, and practices among Saudi general dentists. Saudi J Oral Sci. 2019;6(1):25.