Knowledge, attitude, practice, and perceived barriers of colorectal cancer screening among primary care physicians in the Kingdom of Bahrain

Abstract

Background: Colorectal cancer (CRC) is one of the lethal cancers all over the world. Early detection of colorectal cancer has been shown to reduce incidence and mortality. Primary care physicians have a crucial role in early detection of cancer. This study aims to explore the knowledge, attitude and practice of primary care physicians in Bahrain towards CRC screening and to determine the barriers related to CRC screening. Methods: A cross sectional study was carried out among primary care physicians working at primary health care centers in Bahrain. It included 174 physicians. A self-filled questionnaire that includes demographic information, knowledge scale, attitude scale, practice scale items and barriers of not performing CRC screening was used as the study tool. Results: The overall knowledge score revealed that 51.7% had poor knowledge score and 48.3% had adequate knowledge score. Majority of the participants (93.7%) agreed to have a structured screening program for colorectal cancer rather than an opportunistic one. Most of the physicians (60%) reported that less than 25% of those eligible patients truly receive a screening. Physician’s lack of time was the top barrier of not performing CRC screening. Conclusions: This study showed that most primary care physicians have poor knowledge regarding CRC screening and the majority do not screen their eligible patients for CRC.