Backgound: Cancer of the oral cavity is a public health problem and many cases are not diagnosed until the disease has reached an advanced stage. The aim of this study was to initiate an educational programme in self-examination for patients at risk from oral cancer. Methods: This quasi-experimental study set out to initiate an educational programme in self-examination for patients at risk from oral cancer, assessing the outcomes after three months. In individual 15-minute face-to-face sessions, patients were given information and training in oral cancer risk factors and then verbal instructions as how to carry out oral self-examination. Three months later, patients were interviewed by telephone and asked if they had carried out selfexamination independently at home. The programme was evaluated by means of a health belief model questionnaire on perceived susceptibility (3 items), severity (8 items), benefits (4 items), barriers (8 items) and efficacy (6 items). Results: Eighty-six patients (37 females [43.1%] and 49 males [56.9%]) with a mean age of 58.60 AE 10.7 completed the oral self-examination programme. Logistic regression analysis indicated that patients who felt themselves subject to susceptibility (OR: 0.03 95% CI: 0.0-0.86; p < 0.04), severity (OR 0.23 95% 0.08-0.68; p < 0.008) and benefits (OR 0.11 95% 0.02-0.63; p < 0.013) were more likely to perform self-examination. Conclusions: Training programmes in oral self-examination are needed to decrease morbidity and mortality from oral cancer.
scite is a Brooklyn-based organization that helps researchers better discover and understand research articles through Smart Citations–citations that display the context of the citation and describe whether the article provides supporting or contrasting evidence. scite is used by students and researchers from around the world and is funded in part by the National Science Foundation and the National Institute on Drug Abuse of the National Institutes of Health.