ORAL CANCER AWARENESS AMONG NON-MEDICAL PROFESSIONALS - A CROSS-SECTIONAL STUDY IN LADAKH

Methodology: A questionnaire-based survey was conducted over a period ofsixmonth among the different areas of Ladakh to assess the knowledge and awareness about Oral Cancer among non-medical professionals in Ladakh. A questionnaire containing 20 questions pertaining to awareness, signs, symptoms and risk factors of Oral Cancer was submitted to the participants. Results: Participants who completed the questionnaire had a poor understanding of Oral Cancer, particularly with regard to etiology, signs, symptoms & risk factors. Conclusion: Overall, the awareness about Oral Cancer among the non-medical professionalsin Ladakh was not satisfactory pointing to the need of mass awareness and dissemination of information about Oral Cancer and its risk factors.


ISSN: 2320-5407
Int. J. Adv. Res. 9(11), 263-270 264 presenting with distant metastasis. 4 Since at least two-thirds of all cases are due to lifestyle factors, such as tobacco and alcohol abuse, these behaviours are changeable by the use of effective primary prevention programs. 5 Therefore, this study was undertaken with the aim to assess the knowledge and thus raise the awareness among the non-medical professionals in Ladakh about the signs, symptoms & risk factors of oral cancer.

Methodology:-
A cross-sectional descriptive questionnaire-based study was conducted between February 2021 to July 2021 in which a total of 234 non-medical professionals were selected from various areas of Ladakh.
The questionnaire consisted of 20 questions about the general awareness, sign, symptoms and risk factors of oral cancer. Socio-demographic information such as age, gender, educational level was recorded. The responses for each question were Yes, No & I don't know and respondents were expected to choose only one appropriate response. The questionnaire was divided into four sections, demographics, general awareness, sign & symptoms, risk factors of Oral Cancer. Once the final version of the questionnaire was established, these were sent to participants by using various social media platforms and the responses were recorded. After completion the respondents were provided an educational pamphlet with description of the risk factors, signs and symptoms of oral cancer, and the importance of detecting the disease in its early stages. Finally, data were recorded and statistically analysed and tabulated.

Results:-
A total of 234 non-medical professionals were included in the study in which 144 were males and 90 were females. The participants were between the age groups of 17-45 years and the mean age was 27 years.The education level of 48 participants were 12 th , 108 participants were Graduate and 85 participants were post graduate and PhDs.
In this study participants with higher qualification had more knowledge and awareness about Oral Cancer than participants with lower qualification. [ Table 1

Yes
No Don't know

Discussion:-
Majority of oral cancers have been observed to arise from long-standing premalignant lesions especially in high incidence areas. 6 Oral cancer is largely preventable by avoiding known risk factors and national and international guidelines stress the importance of early detection. 7 Delayed presentation of oral cancer is mainly due to lack of awareness of the public about oral cancer and its associated risk factors which also results in increased treatment morbidity and reduced survival rates. 8 Relatively little attention has been given in educating the youth about the risk factors, signs and symptoms of oral cancer. There should be raising awareness and educating the youths on signs,

D O Y O U T H I N K F A M I L Y H I S T O R Y O F O R A L C A N C E R I S A R I S K F A C T O R F O R O R A L C A N C E R ? D O Y O U T H I N K S H A R P T O O T H I S A R I S K F A C T O R F O R O R A L C A N C E R ? D O Y O U T H I N K S O M E V I R U S E S I S A C A U S E O F O R A L C A N C E R ? D O Y O U T H I N K N U T R I T I O N A L D E F I C I E N C Y I S A C A U S E O F O R A L C A N C E R ?
Yes No Don't know 269 symptoms and risk factors of oral cancer, which leads in early clinical presentation.Therefore, this study was conducted to assess the awareness about Oral Cancer among non-medical professionals in Ladakh. In our study 54.7% participants had knowledge that an abnormal growth in the mouth is a sign of oral cancer which was consistent with the study done by Wolff et alwho said that swelling anywhere in the oral cavity can be a sign of oral cancer. 10 In the current study half of the participants (50%) had knowledge that appearance of red or white spot in mouthcan be a sign of Oral Cancer which was consistent with the study done by Padma K Bhat et alin which 50.5% responded that appearance of red or white spot in the mouth is a sign of oral cancer. 1 In our study 53.8% participants responded that unhealing ulcer in the mouth is a sign of Oral cancer which was in line with the study done by Padma K Bhat et alin which51% of participants thinks that unhealing ulcer in the mouth is a sign of oral cancer. 1 In the present study 35% of participants had knowledge that continuous pain in jaw is a sign of oral cancer, whereas 34.6% participants had knowledge that reduced mouth opening is a sign of oral cancer. These results were in contrast to that of Mamta Agrawal et alin which 45% of participant think that continuous pain in jaw is a sign of oral cancer and63% of participants think reduced mouth opening to be a sign of oral cancer. In our study these were the least identified symptoms. 2 In the present study 82.1% participants had knowledge that smoking is a risk factor for oral cancer, 74.4% participants think that alcohol consumption is a risk factor for oral cancer,71.4% participants think that smokeless tobacco is a cause of oral cancer. These results were in contrast to the study done by Pakfetrat et alwhere only 15.9% responded smoking as a risk factor for oral cancer and only 6.6% responded alcohol consumption a risk factor for oral cancer. 5 According to this study 41.9% participants were not aware that family history of oral cancer is a risk factor of oral cancer which was in consistent with the study done by Padma K Bhat et alin which 47.0% participants don't know that family history of oral cancer is a risk factor for oral cancer. 1

Conclusion:-
Almost all the participants had never undergone any kind of oral cancer screening In the present study, although the majority of participants were aware about the major risk factors for oral cancer like tobacco, smokeless tobacco and alcohol, but many were still unaware about the other risk factors like family history of oral cancer, sedentary lifestyle & nutritional deficiency. This study highlights the needs ofawareness about Oral Cancer among non-medical professionals in Ladakh so as to develop, monitor & implement a comprehensive oral cancer education & promotion program.