Abstract
Background: Cancer has imposed considerable human suffering and economic cost worldwide. Tobacco use contributes for major percentage of cancer-deaths worldwide.
Objective: The study was designed to evaluate the effect of Tobacco Related Cancer Awareness Program in terms of Knowledge about Cancer among Rural Youth of Varanasi.
Materials and Methods: A community based intervention study was conducted in the Varanasi district. Total one hundred eighty two youth in the age group of 15- 24 years was selected by simple random sampling. After base line assessment, subjects from two intervention villages were oriented about tobacco related cancer and effect of the same was measured by comparing finding for 2 nonintervention village. In order to draw meaningful inferences from results of the baseline and post intervention assessment, intervention and non-intervention groups were compared.
Result: Awareness of subjects from non-intervention and intervention groups was similar at the time of basal assessment. At the time of post-intervention assessment Gutkha, supari, cigarette and Bidi smoking were considered as risk factor of oral cancer by 33.0%, 7.7%. 23.1% and 3.3% subjects from non-intervention group, respectively. Corresponding values for subjects from intervention groups were 56.0%. 37.4%, 81.3.0% and 57.1% (p<0.01).
Conclusion: After intervention there was a significant improvement in knowledge of intervention group in terms of tobacco related cancer, manifestations of cancer, risk factor of lung cancer, most common tobacco related cancer in men and women and facility provided by Government for cancer patients.
Keywords: Cancer, Erythroplakia, Lencoplakia, Occupational hazards, Tobacco.
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Corresponding Author
Sachchidanand
Senior Resident, Department of Community Medicine Institute of Medical Sciences, Banaras Hindu University, Varanasi- 221005, India
DOI: https://dx.doi.org/10.18535/jmscr/v7i6.121
