Knowledge and perception toward colorectal cancer screening in east of Iran

Abstract

Background: Colorectal Cancer (CRC) is the third most common cancer in Iran and its early detection is necessary. This study is based on perception of people in the east of Iran toward CRC screening. Methods: In a cross-sectional study, 1060 randomly selected individuals who referred to Razavi Hospital of Mashhad, Iran, between September the 1 st , 2012 and February the 28 th , 2013 as patients or their visitors involved in an interview to fill a questionnaire on CRC screening. Results: The participants' age ranged from 40 to 88 years (mean= 55). More than 90% had no knowledge of CRC and screening tests. The most cited reasons for not having screening tests were "did not have any problem" and "did not think it was needed". Although, older people had more knowledge of CRC (P= 0.033), there was no relationship between gender, health insurance status, family history of individuals and their knowledge about CRC (P> 0.050). Employment, education and higher income had positive effect on the perception of people toward CRC screening (P< 0.050). Conclusion: Lack of knowledge in people in lower socio-economical class with limited literacy is the most important barrier to CRC screening. As such, designing educational programs involving physicians and media is important to improve CRC screening rates.

Predictors of Cancer Awareness among Older Adult Individuals in Jordan

“…On the other hand, in this study, less than half of the older adults recognized that "a change in the bowel motions between diarrhea and constipation that last long" as a sign of cancer. This finding is consistent with Bidouei et al (2014) who reported that the majority of older men and women had poor knowledge about the colorectal cancer signs and symptoms. Moreover, in our study, the results revealed that older adults with higher level of education and high level of income had better awareness about signs and symptoms of cancer.…”

Knowledge about Colorectal Cancer in Northern Iran: a Population-Based Telephone Survey

“…In addition, the majority of participants in the present study correctly reported that adults over 50 years of age were at greater risk, and those in the older age group were significantly more knowledgeable about CRC. Furthermore, education and a history of irritable bowel syndrome were associated with higher knowledge scores, consistent with previous works (Yardley et al, 2000;Robb et al, 2009;Bidouei et al, 2014). Associations between knowledge and socioeconomic variation were also identified, corresponding with the socioeconomic gradient in bowel cancer screening that has been consistently reported (McCaffery et al, 2002).…”

“…Similar to other studies (Salimzadeh et al, 2012;Bidouei et al, 2014), there was no significant difference between men and women in overall CRC knowledge Knowledge about Colorectal Carcinoma in Rasht, Northern Iran and prior screening. The participants in our study mainly attributed their knowledge of cancer to radio and television, which is equally available to men and women in this area.…”

“…Associations between knowledge and socioeconomic variation were also identified, corresponding with the socioeconomic gradient in bowel cancer screening that has been consistently reported (McCaffery et al, 2002). As mentioned in a prior study in Iran, positive family history of CRC did not increase the knowledge of our population (Bidouei et al, 2014), we could not assess this association due to the small number of participants with a positive family history.…”

Preferences for Colorectal Cancer Screening Tests: Differences Between Insured and Uninsured Beneficiaries of Iranian Health Transformation Plan

“…Moreover, all costs of CRC screening tests are not covered by these schemes for all individuals. Therefore complementary health insurance might play an important role (15)(16)(17)(18). The existence of an insurance coverage is one of the main factors affecting the people preferences for choosing the various types of health services, especially the preventive services (11,12).…”