The purposes of this study are to determine early detection practices performed by primary healthcare professionals, to compare medical and dental sub-groups, and to identify factors that influence the ability of medical and dental practitioners to recognize precancerous changes and clinical signs of oral cancer. A 28-item survey instrument was used to interview a total of 330 Jordanian primary health-care professionals (165 dental and 165 medical). An oral cancer knowledge scale (0 to 31) was generated from correct responses on oral cancer general knowledge. An early detection practice scale (0 to 24) was generated from the reported usage and frequency of procedures in oral cancer examination. Also, a diagnostic ability scale (0 to 100) was generated from correct selections of suspicious oral lesions. Only 17.8 % of the participants reported that they routinely performed oral cancer screening in practices. Their oral cancer knowledge scores ranged from 3 to 31 with a mean of 15.6. The early detection practice scores ranged from 2 to 21 with a mean of 11.6. A significant positive correlation was found between knowledge scores and early detection practice scores (r = 0.22; p < 0.001). The diagnostic ability scores ranged from 11.5 to 96 with a mean of 43.6. The diagnostic ability score was significantly correlated with knowledge scores (r = 0.39; p < 0.001), but not with early detection practice scores (r = 0.01; p = 0.92). Few significant differences were found between medical and dental primary care professionals. Continuous education courses on early diagnosis of oral cancer and oral mucosal lesions are needed for primary health-care professionals.

Aims and objectives: To assess nurses' knowledge on pressure ulcer (PU) prevention and treatment in Jordan, and the frequency of and factors influencing nurses' implementation of PU prevention and treatment interventions. Background: Highly educated and experienced nurses can provide effective PU care; however, previous studies highlighted poor knowledge and implementation of PU care. Design: A correlational study examining nurses' knowledge of PU prevention and frequency of PU preventive actions in Jordanian hospitals. Methods: Participants were 377nurses and 318 patients from 11 hospitals. Data were collected to quantify the frequency of nurses' implementation of pressure ulcer prevention and treatment interventions for patients suffering from PUs and/or at risk of PU development using a selfreported cross-sectional survey and prospective 8-hour observation Results: For observed PU prevention while type of hospital and number of beds in units were significant it is not known without further work if this is replicable. For observed PU treatment, linear regression analysis revealed significant negative beta values for more than 50 beds in clinical unit (β=-2.49). Conclusion: The study addressed new factors, facilitating the provision of prevention and treatment strategies to PU development, including type of clinical institution and number of beds in clinical unit. 2 Relevance to clinical practice: There is a need to develop training programmes to improve insufficient nurses' knowledge and, thus, clinical practices on PU prevention and treatment. These programmes would assist both junior and senior nurses and other key stakeholders (e.g. hospital managers, policy-makers, and educators) to improve the performance of PU services, thus, minimising patient suffering.

Aims: To identify deficiencies in the knowledge of general medical (GMPs) and dental practitioners (GDPs) regarding early detection of oral cancer, to compare differences between subgroups, and to identify educational needs for continuing education courses on this subject. Materials and Methods: 165 GDPs and 165 GMPs were directly interviewed to assess their knowledge about oral cancer using a pre-tested survey. Knowledge scores were generated from correct responses of participants to factual questions about oral cancer. Results: Few participants (15.2% of GDPs and 12.8% of GMPs) reported that they attended any continuing education courses on oral cancer during their professional career. Most participants (81.6% of GDPs and 86.3% of GMPs) admitted that their knowledge about oral cancer was not up to date and that they would need to attend continuing education courses on oral cancer if available. A few significant differences were identified between groups regarding knowledge about risk factors, clinical presentations and diagnostic techniques but the overall knowledge scores showed no significant difference between GMPs and GDPs. Conclusions: The present study identified several deficiencies in the knowledge of GMPs and GDPs regarding risk factors, clinical presentations, and diagnostic techniques of oral cancer. Interventions to correct these defects through properly designed continuing education courses are required.