TY - JOUR
T1 - Awareness of Cancer Symptoms and Barriers to Seeking Medical Help Among Adult People Attending Primary Care Settings in Oman
AU - Al-Azri, Mohammed
AU - Al-Maskari, Aziza
AU - Al-Matroushi, Salma
AU - Al-Awisi, Huda
AU - Davidson, Robin
AU - Panchatcharam, Sathiya Murthi
AU - Al-Maniri, Abdullah
N1 - Funding Information:
The authors would like to thank the participants and the Directorate General of Health Services of Muscat governorate for allowing this study to take part in the local health centers. The authors would also like to thank the College of Medicine and Health Sciences at Sultan Qaboos University, Oman, for sponsoring this research. The author(s) disclosed receipt of the following financial support for the research, authorship, and/or publication of this article: The Dean’s Fund, College of Medicine and Health Sciences, Sultan Qaboos University, Oman.
Publisher Copyright:
© The Author(s) 2016.
PY - 2016/10/25
Y1 - 2016/10/25
N2 - Objectives: To explore the public’s awareness of cancer symptoms and the barriers to seeking medical help among Omani adults attending primary care settings in Muscat governorate, the capital city of Oman. Methods: The Cancer Awareness Measure (CAM) questionnaire (translated into Arabic) was used to collect data from a total of 12 randomly selected local health centers (LHCs) in Muscat governorate, the capital city of Oman. Omani adults aged 18 years and above attending LHCs during the study period were invited to participate in the study. Statistical Package for the Social Sciences (SPSS version 22) was used to analyze the data. Results: A total of 999 participants completed the CAM questionnaire from 1200 invitations (response rate = 83%). The overall recognition of common cancer symptoms was less than 50% except for an unexplained lump/swelling, which was 71%. Multinomial logistic regression showed that women recognized more cancer symptoms than men (odds ratio [OR] = 1.79; 95% confidence interval [CI]: 1.27-2.51), that more highly educated participations recognized more cancer symptoms than less educated participants (OR = 39; 95% CI: 0.23-0.69). The majority of participants (91.2%) agreed that the right time to seek medical help for possible cancer symptom was within 2 weeks. Multinomial logistic regression showed that women rather than men were more likely to perceive barriers to seeking medical help (OR = 2.10; 95% CI: 1.60-2.76). Also the less educated participants, rather than more educated, were more likely to perceive barriers to seeking medical help (OR = 2.17; 95% CI: 1.16-4.05). Conclusion: Levels of awareness of cancer symptoms are low in Oman. More national CAMs are needed in Oman to increase public knowledge of cancer symptoms. Also, more public awareness is needed to overcome the barriers to seeking timely medical help particularly among groups of women and the unmarried, widowed, divorced, or separated if delays in presentation are to be minimized.
AB - Objectives: To explore the public’s awareness of cancer symptoms and the barriers to seeking medical help among Omani adults attending primary care settings in Muscat governorate, the capital city of Oman. Methods: The Cancer Awareness Measure (CAM) questionnaire (translated into Arabic) was used to collect data from a total of 12 randomly selected local health centers (LHCs) in Muscat governorate, the capital city of Oman. Omani adults aged 18 years and above attending LHCs during the study period were invited to participate in the study. Statistical Package for the Social Sciences (SPSS version 22) was used to analyze the data. Results: A total of 999 participants completed the CAM questionnaire from 1200 invitations (response rate = 83%). The overall recognition of common cancer symptoms was less than 50% except for an unexplained lump/swelling, which was 71%. Multinomial logistic regression showed that women recognized more cancer symptoms than men (odds ratio [OR] = 1.79; 95% confidence interval [CI]: 1.27-2.51), that more highly educated participations recognized more cancer symptoms than less educated participants (OR = 39; 95% CI: 0.23-0.69). The majority of participants (91.2%) agreed that the right time to seek medical help for possible cancer symptom was within 2 weeks. Multinomial logistic regression showed that women rather than men were more likely to perceive barriers to seeking medical help (OR = 2.10; 95% CI: 1.60-2.76). Also the less educated participants, rather than more educated, were more likely to perceive barriers to seeking medical help (OR = 2.17; 95% CI: 1.16-4.05). Conclusion: Levels of awareness of cancer symptoms are low in Oman. More national CAMs are needed in Oman to increase public knowledge of cancer symptoms. Also, more public awareness is needed to overcome the barriers to seeking timely medical help particularly among groups of women and the unmarried, widowed, divorced, or separated if delays in presentation are to be minimized.
KW - Oman
KW - adult
KW - diagnosis
KW - neoplasms
KW - primary health care
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U2 - 10.1177/2333392816673290
DO - 10.1177/2333392816673290
M3 - Article
C2 - 28462284
AN - SCOPUS:85044763250
SN - 2333-3928
VL - 3
JO - Health Services Research and Managerial Epidemiology
JF - Health Services Research and Managerial Epidemiology
ER -
