Understanding of tobacco and lung cancer among medical students in Kathmandu University School of Medical Sciences (KUSMS)

Often, lung cancer is diagnosed at terminal stages. Poor awareness about the symptoms or risk factors of lung cancer among medics may be one of the factors for delayed diagnosis. We explored the knowledge of medical students and their behavior with the patients of lung cancer. Qualitative and quanti...

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Bibliographic Details
Published in:	Kathmandu University medical journal Vol. 10; no. 39; pp. 60 - 65
Main Authors:	Khatiwada, P, Kayastha, S R, Pant, P, Khanal, K R, Giri, A, Khatiwoda, P, Mali, A
Format:	Journal Article
Language:	English
Published:	Nepal 01-07-2012
Subjects:	Awareness Female Health Behavior Health Knowledge, Attitudes, Practice Humans Lung Neoplasms - epidemiology Male Nepal Nicotiana - adverse effects Risk Factors Smoking - adverse effects Smoking - epidemiology Students, Medical - statistics & numerical data Surveys and Questionnaires Universities Nepal
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Summary:	Often, lung cancer is diagnosed at terminal stages. Poor awareness about the symptoms or risk factors of lung cancer among medics may be one of the factors for delayed diagnosis. We explored the knowledge of medical students and their behavior with the patients of lung cancer. Qualitative and quantitative approaches were used for data collection from 153 medical student of Kathmandu University School of Medical Sciences from December 2011 to May 2012. Among the results, eighty-nine students had over 80% knowledge of the 14 cancer warning signs, among them 83% knew the nine risk factors for lung cancer. Twenty-three students told lung cancer can be hereditary. Sixty five percent of all participants believed that lung cancer can be detected at early stage; of them 81% told that it can be treated. About 24% of the total students were current or exsmokers and about half of them believed that lung cancer does not occur in light smokers. Only 10% have heard of Framework Convention on Tobacco Control in Nepal. Study finds that all medical students who know about any cancers may not necessarily have knowledge about lung cancers. Their perception about the cause of lung cancer may be influenced by their smoking behavior and there was little knowledge of public health measures for smoking control. Awareness about national policies needs to be increased.
Bibliography:	ObjectType-Article-1 SourceType-Scholarly Journals-1 ObjectType-Feature-2 content type line 23
ISSN:	1812-2027 1812-2078
DOI:	10.3126/kumj.v10i3.8022