Volume 25, Issue 117, November 2021

The awareness and impression of pediatric oncology and childhood cancer among health-related students at Umm Al-Qura University in Makkah city, KSA: Cross-sectional study

Salah Bakry¹, Hammad Alharbi^1♦, Abdulrahman Kabli¹, Ammar Aljohani¹, Abdullah Allehyani¹, Abdelelah Mofti², Ahmad Hasan Mufti³

¹Faculty of Medicine, Umm Al-Qura University, Saudi Arabia
²Faculty of Medicine, Jeddah University, Saudi Arabia
³Assistant professor, Medical genetics department, Faculty of Medicine, Umm Al-Qura University

^♦Corresponding author
Faculty of Medicine, Umm Al-Qura University, Saudi Arabia

ABSTRACT

Background: childhood cancer encompasses a rare high risk of mortality worldwide. Our study surveyed health students in Makkah city of western Saudi Arabia. We compared the awareness and attitude of childhood cancer and pediatric oncology and recommended strategies to bridge this awareness gap. Methodology: A survey-based study was conducted among health-related students at Umm Al-Qura University in Makkah, Saudi Arabia, between March 2021 and September 2021. Results: The number of participants in the current study was 342 students. Their mean age was 22.7 ± 1.95 years. Overall, 198 (57.9%) were males, and 144 (42.1%) were females. The majority of students were 5th-year students, with interns being the least represented. Among the colleges, the College of Medicine had the most significant percentage of students. Most students were unmarried (single). Conclusion: early diagnosis of childhood cancer is an essential goal in pediatric oncology; our study concluded that while most students were aware of childhood cancer, their basic information was not sufficient to allow an opportunity for early treatment and intervention while the disease burden is in its earliest and treatable stages.

Keywords: awareness, attitude, childhood cancer, pediatric oncology, health students, Saudi Arabia

Medical Science, 2021, 25(117), 2859-2867

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