Knowledge, attitudes, and practices of oral cancer prevention among students, interns, and faculty members at the college of dentistry of Jazan University

BACKGROUND: Oral cancer awareness among current and future dental practitioners plays a substantial role in the early detection and prevention of oral cancer. Therefore, this study aimed to assess the knowledge, attitudes, and practices (KAP) of oral cancer prevention (OCP) among oral health practitioners in the College of Dentistry at Jazan University, Saudi Arabia, and to determine factors that facilitate, or limit practices related to oral cancer prevention. METHODS: A self-administered questionnaire survey was done among dental students (n = 274), interns (n = 81), and faculty members (n = 117) in the College of Dentistry at Jazan University between May 2019 to February 2020. The questionnaire was developed in English and modified from a previously validated and published questionnaire into Arabic. It covered every KAP of oral cancer prevention that was useful in accomplishing the study's objectives. Logistic regression analysis was utilized to determine the factors associated with the practice of oral cancer prevention in the past year. RESULTS: Only 29.7% reported having participated in any OCP activities in the past 12 months while about 42% and 53% of participants referred suspected oral cancer patients to the departments of maxillofacial surgery and oral medicine, respectively. Most of the participants had poor knowledge (71.9%), unfavourable attitudes towards OCP (83.6%) and poor levels of practice (62.9%). The study found that the attitude of the participants was significant in influencing their practices of OCP in the previous 12 months, after adjusting for all other factors. CONCLUSION: It was concluded that the level of knowledge, attitudes, and practices of OCP among the sample population was poor. The survey findings suggest that oral health practitioners in Jazan are inexperienced in the methods to adopt for prevention and early detection of oral cancer, despite the high prevalence of oral cancer among province residents. Further research should investigate effective educational strategies and training for improving the participation of students, interns, and faculty members in oral cancer prevention activities.