Cancer Screening: Knowledge, Attitudes, and Practices among Healthcare Personnel

Sheikhalipour, Zahra; Ghahramanian, Akram; Sanaat, Zohreh; Onyeka, Tonia C; Jafarzadeh, Maryam; Vahedi, Leila

doi:10.30476/mejc.2023.96230.1810

Cancer Screening: Knowledge, Attitudes, and Practices among Healthcare Personnel

Document Type : Original Article(s)

Authors

Zahra Sheikhalipour ¹

Akram Ghahramanian ²

Zohreh Sanaat ¹

Tonia C Onyeka ³

Maryam Jafarzadeh ¹

Leila Vahedi ⁴

¹ Hematology and Oncology Research Center, Tabriz University of Medical Sciences, Tabriz, Iran

² Medical Education Research Center, Health Management and Safety, Promotion Research Institute, Tabriz University of Medical Sciences, Tabriz, Iran

³ Department of Anaesthesia/Pain and Palliative Care Unit, Multidisciplinary Oncology Centre, College of Medicine, University of Nigeria, Enugu, Nigeria

⁴ Road Traffic Injury Research Center, Tabriz University of Medical Sciences, Tabriz, Iran

https://doi.org/10.30476/mejc.2023.96230.1810

Abstract

Background: It is crucial for medical personnel to be aware of cancer symptoms and engage in appropriate screening practices. This study aimed to investigate the knowledge of Iranian healthcare staff regarding cancer warning symptoms, their attitudes towards cancer risk factors, and their willingness to undertake cancer screening tests.
Method: This cross-sectional study involved administering validated questionnaires to 145 medical staff. In addition to descriptive statistics, independent sample t-test and Analysis of Variance (ANOVA) were utilized to compare knowledge, attitudes, and performance of cancer screening tests. Pearson's correlation coefficient was used to determine the relationship between demographic and occupational variables and participants' knowledge and attitudes regarding cancer risk factors and screening practices.
Results: The mean knowledge and attitude scores were 7.97 ± 2.01 and 35.41 ± 4.69, respectively. Among the 125 female participants aged 25-57 years, only 44% performed monthly breast self-examinations, 22.1% sought specialist physicians for breast cancer screening, and only 20.51% of female participants over the age of 40 underwent mammography. Regarding cervical cancer screening, 27.2% had undergone annual Pap smear tests, and 17.6% referred to a specialist for annual pelvic examinations. Among staff older than 45 years (24 participants), only one had undertaken an occult blood test and colonoscopy for colorectal cancer screening.
Conclusion: Although most healthcare workers demonstrated awareness of cancer warning signs, they did not engage in regular preventive screening practices. Regular educational programs should be implemented to encourage healthcare personnel to perform routine cancer screening.

Highlights

Zahra Sheikhalipour (Google Scholar)

Leila Vahedi (Google Scholar)

Keywords

Cancer

Knowledge

Attitude

Risk factors

Screening

Subjects

Cancer Prevention

How to cite this article:

Sheikhalipour Z, Ghahramanian A, Sanaat Z, Onyeka TC, Jafarzadeh M, Vahedi L. Cancer screening: knowledge, attitudes, and practices among healthcare personnel. Middle East J Cancer. 2024;15(1):62-71. doi: 10.30476/mejc.2023.96230.1810.

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