Knowledge, Attitude, And Practice Towards Colorectal Cancer Screening Among Primary Health Care Physicians In Buraydah, Qassim, Saudi Arabia.

Abstract

Colorectal cancer is one of the common cancers globally. The knowledge of primary health care physicians  (PHPs)regarding screening of colorectal cancer is important in the early identification of cancer and prompt treatment. Therefore, this study aimed to assess the attitude, practices, and knowledge of PHPs working at primary health care centers in Buraydah, Qassim, Saudi Arabia. This was a cross-sectional study conducted among PHPs in Buraydah, Saudi Arabia. Data was collected using a self-administrated validated questionnaire adapted from the National Cancer Institute in the United States of America (USA). Data was analyzed using SPSS version 21.0. Descriptive analysis was carried out to assess knowledge, attitude and practices. A total of 110 primary care physicians participated in the study. Two-thirds (67%) of the participants were Saudi nationals, and a similar proportion (66%) were male. The mean knowledge score was 6.93 ± 3.39. The mean score in the attitude domain was 10.58 ± 4.02. Around three fourth 75% of the physicians would start screening at the age of 45 years. We found a lower level of knowledge but a reasonable degree of attitude. This is an important finding that despite having a better attitude towards CRC screening, the physicians working in primary health care centers of Buraydah were deficient in knowledge which may have adverse impact on their practices. Further large-scale studies are recommended to generate robust evidence on the topic.