Knowledge, attitude, and behavioral intention about oral cancer among public health students in Southeast Georgia

Abstract

Oral cancer (OC) is a significant public health problem; however, the degree to which the future public health workforce is aware of this issue is not well researched. The purpose of this study is to explore the level of knowledge, attitudes, and behavioral intentions about OC among public health students.A sequential exploratory mixed-method research design was employed for this study. Using quantitative and qualitative measures, a survey was administered to 129 public health students. Subsequently, to understand the quantitative findings, two follow-up focus groups were conducted with survey participants.We found that participants had some knowledge about OC risk factors, but they were not aware of survival rate of it. About 58.9% of the participants responded the survival rate for OC is ‘more than 61%’. The majority of the respondents (67%) had never heard about OC exams. In the focus group, four major themes were identified: lack of knowledge, strategies to educate the community about OC, current public health practices around OC prevention, and role of public health professionals in this. Participants felt the need for collaboration between oral health and public health to raise awareness about OC in the community.Participants’ knowledge and awareness about OC was encouraging but at the same time, it raised a concern about their competency in OC prevention interventions. Ensuring holistic oral health education through the coordination of public health and oral healthcare services can play a critical role in preparing future public health workforce for OC prevention.