Oral cancer knowledge, attitudes, and practices among senior dental students in Yemen: a multi-institution study

Abstract

Background The “Knowledge, attitude, and practice (KAP)” approach is crucial in health system. Appreciating the current KAP status will reveal the extent of the efficiency of applied health strategies, and subsequently help to determine the appropriate health policy to be employed for improving the health indicators of a given disease/condition, including Oral Cancer (OC). This large-scale cross-sectional study aimed to assess knowledge, attitude, and practice on OC among senior dental students in Yemen. Methods A pre-validated online questionnaire was used for data collection. It consisted of a series of close-ended questions on knowledge, attitudes and practices related to OC. Yemeni dental students in clinical levels (4th and 5th years) from nine dental schools based in four major cities were invited to complete the survey. The SPSS Version 28.0 was used for data analysis. Differences by different grouping factors were assessed by Chi-squared and Mann Whitney-U tests, as appropriate. Results A total of 927 students completed the questionnaire: a response rate of 43%. While the majority identified smoking (93.8%), and smokeless tobacco (92.1%) as potential risk factors of OC, only 76.2% recognized sun exposure as a risk factor for lip cancer and only 50% were aware of old age as a risk factor of OC. Regarding clinical signs of OC, 84.1% reported that OC can present as non-healing ulcer, but only two thirds of the participants recognized that OC can present as a white and/or red lesion. With respect to practices, although 92.1% reported asking their patients regarding oral habits, only 78% reported they regularly carry out a soft tissue examination. Only 54.5% of the participants considered themselves to be well-trained to provide smoking cessation advice, and 21% were confident regarding their knowledge on OC. The 5th year students showed significantly better knowledge and practices than the 4th year students did (p < 0.01). Conclusion The study suggests significant gaps in knowledge, attitudes, and practices of senior dental students in Yemen regarding OC. The findings also underscore the urgent need to improve OC teaching and training of undergraduate dental students, and to provide periodic well-structured continuing professional development activities for dental professionals.

Knowledge of xerostomia and angular cheilitis in geriatric population among clinical dental students: An institutional cross-sectional study

“…This particular condition has also been addressed in the study conducted by Shamala et al , (2023) where significant gaps in knowledge, attitude, and practice were reported among dental students in relation to the management of oral cancer, where gaps were attributed to the limited clinical exposure to the disease. [ 17 ] Furthermore, our analysis indicated that various sociodemographic factors, including gender, clinical interest, and physical proximity to the geriatric population, did not significantly influence the knowledge of dental students regarding xerostomia and AC.…”

“…Previous studies by Tahani et al [ 19 20 ] have highlighted the inadequacy of geriatric dentistry modules in the dental education system of Iran. [ 22 ] In contrast, Kossioni et al [ 17 20 ] reported that many European countries have successfully introduced focused modules on geriatric dentistry, with 86.2% of schools incorporating such modules. [ 23 ] However, there is limited information regarding the introduction and standardization of geriatric dentistry modules in Indonesia.…”

Self-reported preparedness of final year undergraduate dental students and interns in Saudi Arabia: a multi-institutional study

“…This lack of confidence may be attributed to a lack of clinical exposure to patients with oral cancer cases in comparison to routine dental problems. It is a well-recognized gap in dental education that can be bridged through structured clinical exposure to specialist settings in oral and maxillofacial surgery, use of case-based discussions and clinical problem-solving sessions [ 25 ].…”

Comparison of knowledge, awareness, and behaviors toward oral cancer among dental students and dentists: an online cross-sectional questionnaire in Türkiye

“…Dentists’ awareness of OC risk factors and lifestyle modifications can help to prevent OC and improve survival rates among patients [ 18 ]. Many studies worldwide have investigated dentists’ knowledge, awareness, and practices for preventing and early diagnosing OC [ 13 , 15 – 41 ]; however, no study has compared the knowledge levels of dentists and senior dental students regarding OC.…”