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Mouth self‐examination in a population at risk of oral cancer
Author(s) -
Jornet P López,
Garcia FJ Gómez,
Berdugo M Lucero,
Perez F Parra,
Lopez A PonsFuster
Publication year - 2015
Publication title -
australian dental journal
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 0.701
H-Index - 71
eISSN - 1834-7819
pISSN - 0045-0421
DOI - 10.1111/adj.12274
Subject(s) - medicine , dentistry , cancer , population , environmental health
Abstract Backgound Cancer of the oral cavity is a public health problem and many cases are not diagnosed until the disease has reached an advanced stage. The aim of this study was to initiate an educational programme in self‐examination for patients at risk from oral cancer. Methods This quasi‐experimental study set out to initiate an educational programme in self‐examination for patients at risk from oral cancer, assessing the outcomes after three months. In individual 15‐minute face‐to‐face sessions, patients were given information and training in oral cancer risk factors and then verbal instructions as how to carry out oral self‐examination. Three months later, patients were interviewed by telephone and asked if they had carried out self‐examination independently at home. The programme was evaluated by means of a health belief model questionnaire on perceived susceptibility (3 items), severity (8 items), benefits (4 items), barriers (8 items) and efficacy (6 items). Results Eighty‐six patients (37 females [43.1%] and 49 males [56.9%]) with a mean age of 58.60 ± 10.7 completed the oral self‐examination programme. Logistic regression analysis indicated that patients who felt themselves subject to susceptibility ( OR : 0.03 95% CI : 0.0–0.86; p < 0.04), severity ( OR 0.23 95% 0.08–0.68; p < 0.008) and benefits ( OR 0.11 95% 0.02–0.63; p < 0.013) were more likely to perform self‐examination. Conclusions Training programmes in oral self‐examination are needed to decrease morbidity and mortality from oral cancer.