Sum: Cancer is the second leading cause of death globally and the researchs on the development mechanisms of cancer and screening methods have been developed. At this period of time the community is need to be informed about some issues about cancer signs, symptoms and early diognosis. Our study is a descriptive cross-sectional study and was conducted between January-June 2020 in two community pharmacies in Istanbul. A structered questionnaire was prepared according to the guidelines of the American Cancer Society and the National Cancer Institute on cancer and screening methods. The questionnaire consists of 49 questions about; basic information about cancer (15 items), signs and symptoms of cancer (11 items), causes of cancer and risk factors (14 items), cancer screening methods (9 items). Answer options are defined as "true, false and I don't know". The questionnaire answers were scored based on correct answers given and the knowledge level of the participants was evaluated as " poor level of knowledge" and "sufficient level of knowledge " according to the total score. 114 patients participated the study and had sufficient levels of general knowledge about cancer and the the signs and symptoms of cancer (51.8%; 43.9%, respectively). On the other hand, it was observed that 76.3% of the patients had poor levels of knowledge about cancer causes and risk factors. Also, it was determined that more than half of the patients gave correct answers to the questions about breast (79.6%), lung (60.5%), colon (70.2%) and cervical cancer (55.3%) screening methods. Cronbach's alpha value for the internal consistency level of the questionnaire was found to be 0.895. As a result, we believe that the knowledge about cancer and cancer screening methods should be increased by the comunity pharmacists and as well as the other healthcare professionals.
Anahtar Kelimeler: cancer, screening methods, level of knowledge, pharmacy
|