Evaluation of the different strategies to oral cancer knowledge: a randomized controlled study
Menée auprès de 90 participants, cette étude randomisée analyse diverses stratégies éducatives pour améliorer les connaissances du public relatives au cancer du pharynx et de la cavité buccale
Objectives Oral cavity and pharyngeal cancer has been well recognized as a public health problem. Prognosis for oral cancer is substantially improved when diagnosed early. A study was made of the impact of different educational strategies upon knowledge of oral cancer, evaluating the intervention after 4 weeks. Methods Ninety subjects over 40 years of age were consecutively included and randomized to three different groups (video, leaflet, verbal information). All subjects completed a 20-item pre-test on their knowledge of the risk factors, signs, and symptoms of oral cancer, and posteriorly received the video, leaflet, or verbal information, with evaluation of the results after 4 weeks. Results In relation to the items correctly answered at baseline, all subjects showed an increase in knowledge score after 4 weeks: verbal information 4.77 ± 3.31, leaflets 4.53 ± 3.44, and video 3.67 ± 3.31 – no statistically significant differences being observed for any of the three strategies. Conclusion The oral cancer knowledge score increased following the educational intervention, which proved successful over the short term. Copyright © 2012 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.