Effect of Education on Promoting Oral Cancers Knowledge of High School Students in Zahedan

Abstract

Background: Cancers depend on the patients’ lifestyles, including the use of tobacco and alcohol. Based on the available evidence, the majority of smokers form the habit when they are young adults. In fact, lifestyles are formed during the adolescence, but they can be modified by increasing the awareness of target groups. Objectives: The present study was undertaken to evaluate the effect of educational pamphlets on promoting the awareness of high school students in relation to oral cancers. Methods: In the present cross sectional study, 400 male and 400 female high school students were evaluated. The students were asked to fill out a standard questionnaire on oral cancer awareness. Subsequently, the educational pamphlets were distributed among the students. Three months after the distribution of the pamphlets, the same questionnaire was filled out by the same subjects. Results: There were no significant differences in knowledge scores between male and female students before the distribution of pamphlets, with scores of 5.6 ± 4.3 and 5.6 ± 1.7 in females and males, respectively (P = 0.96). Three months after the distribution of pamphlets, the knowledge scores of males and females had increased, with statistically significant differences. Conclusions: In the present study, despite the fact that the educational pamphlet was useful, it had low efficacy, which might be attributed to the more interesting nature of other more active educational methods, such as lectures or workshops for this age group.