Medicina Comunitária e Educação em Saúde

Abstrato

Knowledge and Practice towards Lung Cancer among University Students

Redhwan Ahmed Al-Naggar

Objective: The objective of this study was to determine the knowledge and practice towards lung cancer among university students.

Methodology: Cross-sectional study was conducted among Management and Science University students (MSU). Two hundred and thirteen students were selected randomly from all faculties. The data were collected from the lectures halls, library and university café. Data analysis was conducted using SPSS version 13, t-test was used for univariate analysis. Multiple linear regressions were used for multivariate analysis.

Results: A total number of 213 university students participated in this study. The majority of them females, 22 years old and younger, Malays, single, from non-medical schools and with family monthly income 3000 Ringgit Malaysia (RM) and less (57.3%, 65.3%, 78.4%, 97.2%, 55.9%, 59.6%, and 66.7%; respectively). The majority of the participants mentioned that they knew about lung cancer (93%). Regarding the knowledge about risk factors towards lung cancer, they knew that the risk factors of lung cancer are: smoking (100%), eating chili and deep fried food (68.5%), air pollution (89.2%), alcohol (75.6%), occupational hazard (75.6%), passive smoking (90.1%), exercise reduce the risk of lung cancer (83.1%) and lung cancer is inherited (51.6%). Regarding the practice towards lung cancer prevention, the majority of the participants mentioned that they are not smokers neither alcohol drinkers (90.1%, 94.8%; respectively). Regarding the factors associated with knowledge about lung cancer, marital status, type of faculty, and type of semester significantly influence the knowledge of university students (p=0.014, p=0.001, p=0.028; respectively) in univariate analysis. For multivariate analysis, only types of faculty significantly influence the knowledge of the university students towards lung cancer (p=0.001).

Conclusion: The university students had good knowledge about risk factors. Types of faculty significantly influence the knowledge of the university students towards lung cancer.