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Volume 8 Issue 8 (August, 2020)

Review Articles

Knowledge, Attitude & Practice of Oral Cancer among Students Globally- A Systematic Review
Rajashree Shankar, Neha Taneja, Akanksha Pal, Neha Malhotra, Bhavika Chawla, Aanchal Anant Awasthi, Rajiv Janardhanan

Introduction-Oral cancer is the 11th most common malignancy in the world. More than 90-95% oral cancers are oral squamous cell carcinoma or its variants. Students are most vulnerable population as they involve into risky habits like smoking, alcohol, tobacco consumption which increases their risk factor. Methods- Literature search was conducted and studies from 2012 onwards with cross sectional design were included, using PubMed & Google scholar database. Total 1105 results obtained of which 15 studies met the inclusion criteria. Data collected from students globally were on knowledge of risk factors, signs & symptoms, most affected site, attitude towards early detection, practice of screening. Results- Total 15 studies met inclusion criteria, with sample size of 3719, aged between 15-28 years comprising of only student population. Knowledge of oral cancer among students was 38.25%, attitude towards early detection was 79.5% & practice towards screening was 46.02%. Most commonly reported risk factor was tobacco chewing (96.5%), smoking (92.72%), regarding signs & symptoms, 92% reported speckled lesions & 59.79% responded correctly to squamous cell carcinoma as the most common oral cancer. Conclusion- In this study less than half of population were aware of oral cancer and also had low percentage of practice of screening. Students being more susceptible, calls for more of awareness and educational programs to be designed and conducted in order to impart knowledge regarding oral cancer and to motivate them into getting timely oral cavity examination done from the specialists. Key words: Oral cancer, Knowledge, Attitude, Practice, Screening.

 
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