Abstract
The rising cancer incidence makes cancer prevention, early diagnosis and treatment a priority. Paramedical workers and Nurses in India are the most important and the largest section of the paramedical workforce. Awareness among paramedical students regarding cancer incidence, prevention and control was limited in this study. Only 52% and 48% knew that carcinoma lung and carcinoma cervix is the most common cancer in males and females respectively. Only 60% knew that smoking and other forms of tobacco use are the most important preventable risk factor for cancer in India. 3/4th of the students knew that cancer prevention is possible. Only 40% knew that early detection is beneficial. Since nurses have a major influence on the health seeking behaviour of patients, they need to be aware of cancer risk factors and the importance of early detection through screening.
Keywords: Cancer awareness, Nurses, Paramedical workers, Prevention.
References
- Marimuthu P. Projection of cancer incidence in five cities and cancer mortality in India. Indian J Cancer. 2008; 45: 4-7.
- Pal S K, Mittal B. Fight against cancer in countries with limited resources: the post- genomic era scenario. Pacific J Cancer Prev. 2004; 328 – 33.
- Ferlay J, Soerjomataram I, Ervik M et al. GLOBOCAN 2012 v1.0, Cancer Incidence and Mortality Worldwide: IARC Cancer Base No. 11 [Internet]. Lyon, France: International Agency for Research on Cancer; 2013.
- Dikshit R, Gupta PC, Ramasundarahettige C et al. Cancer mortality in India: a nationally representative survey. Lancet. 2012; 379(9828): 1807-16.
- Mahon, SM. Cancer risk assessment: conceptual considerations for clinical practice. Oncol Nurs Forum. 1998; 25: 1535–47.
- Varshney PK, Agrawal N, Bariar LM. Tobacco and alcohol consumption in relation to oral cancer. Indian J Otolaryngol Head Neck Surg. 2003; 55(1): 25-8.
- Gupta PC, Cecily, Roy S. Tobacco related Cancers- Its impact on Health economy. Health Administrator. 2005; 17: 85-92.
- Dinshaw KA. Cancer Agenda: How Have We Measured Up? J Med Phys. 2001; 26(4): 334.
- World Health Organization. 2008-2013 Action Plan for the Global Strategy for the Prevention and Control of Non-communicable Diseases. Geneva: WHO; 2008. Available from: http://www.who.int/nmh/Actionplan PC-NCD-2008.pdf
- Goel MK, Khanna P, Gaur DR, Das A, Mittal K, Kaushal V. Cancer awareness among nursing students at a tertiary health care institute in India. Austral Med J. 2010; 3(6): 310-12.
- Ramokate T, Basu D. Health care waste management at an academic hospital: knowledge and practices of doctors and nurses. S Afr Med J. 2009; 99(6): 444-5.
- Tessaro I. The natural helping role of nurses in promoting healthy behaviors in communities. Adv Pract Nurs. 1997; 2: 73–8.
Corresponding Author
Dr Peeyush Kariwal
Assistant Professor, Department of Community Medicine,
Uttar Pradesh University of Medical Sciences, Saifai, Etawah (U.P.) India Pin: 206130
Email: This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it.
DOI: https://dx.doi.org/10.18535/jmscr/v5i8.127
