Abstract
Background: In spite of supporting evidence and widespread promotional campaigns, screening rates for breast, cervical and colorectal cancers in Ontario are lower than expected. These low screening rates may be partially due to lack of knowledge on the part of patients. Given the importance of early detection to reduce cancer mortality and morbidity, it is prudent to investigate where knowledge deficits may exist. The purpose of this study was to assess patient knowledge of the Ontario screening guidelines for breast, cervical and colorectal cancers. Methods: Patients of a family health team in Toronto, Ontario were surveyed regarding their knowledge of cancer screening guidelines. Questions included knowledge regarding the test, screening interval and age for cancer screening for breast, cervical and colorectal cancers as well as sociodemographic characteristics. Responses were summarized using descriptive statistics. Results: A total of 117 patients were surveyed. Knowledge of the appropriate screening test was high for breast and cervical cancer (85.5% and 70.1% respectively) though much lower for colorectal cancer (17.1%). Knowledge regarding the age that screening should occur and the screening intervals were much lower across all cancer types. For breast cancer, 16.2% knew the age screening should occur and 30.8% knew the screening interval. For cervical cancer, 6.8% knew the age screening should occur and only 4.3% knew the screening interval. For colorectal cancer, 32.5% knew the age to start screening and 26% knew the screening interval. Conclusions: Knowledge of the cancer screening guidelines appeared to be low across all cancer types, particularly for the ages at when screening should occur and the appropriate screening intervals. These results suggest that public health practitioners and cancer prevention organizations may need to increase efforts for patient education on cancer screening.
Highlights
The Canadian Cancer Society estimates that over 187,000 people will have been diagnosed with and over 75,500 people will have died of cancer by the end of 2013 [1]
Knowledge of cancer screening guidelines in this study was low, especially for cervical and colorectal cancers where the incorrect responses were greater in number and proportion to correct responses
The one exception where knowledge appeared to be high was for breast cancer, where the majority of individuals correctly answered that mammograms were the recommended screening test
Summary
The Canadian Cancer Society estimates that over 187,000 people will have been diagnosed with and over 75,500 people will have died of cancer by the end of 2013 [1]. The intent is to decrease cancer morbidity and mortality along all phases of the cancer care pathway In spite of these efforts, provincial data indicate that screening rates remain low. In spite of supporting evidence and widespread promotional campaigns, screening rates for breast, cervical and colorectal cancers in Ontario are lower than expected These low screening rates may be partially due to lack of knowledge on the part of patients. Conclusions: Knowledge of the cancer screening guidelines appeared to be low across all cancer types, for the ages at when screening should occur and the appropriate screening intervals These results suggest that public health practitioners and cancer prevention organizations may need to increase efforts for patient education on cancer screening
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