Mohammed Jafer
Abstract
Oral cancer is a major oral health issue in the Jazan region of Saudi Arabia. According to the Saudi Cancer Registry, Jazan region has the highest prevalence of oral cancer in the country. However, limited effort regarding investigation and prevention of oral cancer and its risk factors has been initiated. Moreover, there is a lack of insight into dental patients’ education of oral cancer and its risk factors by dentists and dental-students that could contribute to reducing such disease burden in Jazan. Therefore, a multi-angle approach with five formative studies to investigate the practice of dental patients’ education in Jazan University Dental School clinics including dental students, dentists and dental patients was conducted. Data was collected through observing 95 dentists practices, questionnaire measuring dentists’ knowledge of oral cancer (n= 228), dentists’ perspectives (6 focus group interviews), patients perspectives (40 one-on-one interviews) and patients questionnaires (n= 300) to assess their knowledge and perception of oral cancer and its related issues including dental patients’ education practice. These studies revealed that the practice of dental patients’ education regarding oral cancer and its risk factors is limited. The lack of dental patients’ education practice and skills in the Jazan University Dental School formal education and training and the lack of dental patients’ education enforcement from the clinics supervision may have contributed to this current situation.