Evidence map›Paper›PMID 36609965›Full record

ArticleJournal of cancer education : the official journal of the American Association for Cancer Education2023

Effectiveness of an Educational Program on Awareness of Cancer Risk Factors, Symptoms, and Barriers to Medical Help-Seeking Among Adolescent Omani Students: an Interventional Study.

Khadija Al-Hosni, Moon Fai Chan, Mohammed Al-Azri

Abstract read
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In one paragraph

Article in Journal of cancer education : the official journal of the American Association for Cancer Education, 2023. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. Cited by 4 papers.

0numbers the graph read from it
0cells of the map it votes in
4citing papers in PubMed
–field-weighted citation impact
1 · What the graph read from it

What it found

Each row is one number read from the abstract, on the scale the paper reported it, with its interval. Left of the dashed line favours the treatment, right favours the comparator. Under each row is the sentence it came from. New to these charts? A ten-minute tutorial.

The abstract states no effect estimate the extractor could read, or names no intervention and outcome on the map, so this paper lights no cell and moves no belief. It is still indexed, cited and linked below.

2 · The registry

The trial behind it

Trials whose registry record cites this paper, or whose number appears in the abstract. A trial that started after this paper was published is citing it as background, not reporting it.

Neither the registry nor the abstract names a trial number. If this is a trial report, that itself is worth knowing.

3 · Its place in the literature

Who cites it

4 citing papers in PubMed.

  1. The Symptom Biography Curriculum: Teaching Medical Students to Follow the Life Story of a Possible Cancer Symptom.Journal of cancer education : the official journal of the American Association for Cancer Education · 2026
    Article
  2. Integrating Cancer Education Into High School Curricula.Journal of cancer education : the official journal of the American Association for Cancer Education · 2026
    Review
  3. Introduction of Cancer Education Program in Secondary School Curriculum: Perceptions of Education Teachers and Policymakers in Oman.Journal of cancer education : the official journal of the American Association for Cancer Education · 2024
    Article
  4. Article
4 · The record

Corrections and comments

PubMed lists nothing against this paper. Absence here is not a guarantee, only a check that was made.

5 · Who and what money

Authors and funding

3 authors.

Khadija Al-HosniDepartment of Family Medicine and Public Health, College of Medicine and Health Sciences, Sultan Qaboos University, Muscat, Oman.
Moon Fai ChanDepartment of Family Medicine and Public Health, College of Medicine and Health Sciences, Sultan Qaboos University, Muscat, Oman.
Mohammed Al-AzriDepartment of Family Medicine and Public Health, College of Medicine and Health Sciences, Sultan Qaboos University, Muscat, Oman. mhalazri@squ.edu.om.ORCID 0000-0002-6136-4081

Funding

No grant is acknowledged in the PubMed record.

6 · The paper itself

Abstract

Cancer is the second leading cause of death worldwide, with attributable mortality expected to continue increasing over time. High school students are often targeted to enhance awareness of cancer risk factors and symptoms and promote early medical help-seeking behaviors. This study aimed to evaluate the effectiveness of a cancer education program among Omani adolescents. A total of 12 public schools were randomly selected from three governorates and assigned to either the intervention or control group. Students attending grades 10 and 11 at the selected schools were targeted. The Cancer Awareness Measure tool was used to evaluate knowledge of cancer risk factors and symptoms, perceived barriers to seeking medical help, and anticipated time to consult a doctor for cancer warning symptoms at baseline (T0) and after 4 weeks (T1). After T0, the intervention group participated in a 1-h cancer education program involving a slideshow presentation and group discussion; they also received a leaflet and online access to program materials and videos. A total of 1716 students were enrolled in the study, including 886 (51.6%) assigned to the control group and 830 (48.4%) to the intervention group. Recognition of cancer risk factors (Z = 24.86; p ˂ 0.001) and cancer symptoms (Z = 24.91; p ˂ 0.001) significantly improved in the intervention group between T0 and T1, and compared to the control group at T1 (U = 33.28; p ˂ 0.001, and U = 34.55; p ˂ 0.001, respectively). In addition, anticipated time to help-seeking (Z = 20.15; p ˂ 0.001) and barriers to help-seeking (Z = 10.33; p < 0.001) decreased significantly between T0 and T1, and compared to the control group at T1 (U = 19.00; p ˂ 0.001, and U = 3.58; p < 0.001, respectively). The intervention effectively increased knowledge of cancer risk factors and symptoms and promoted early medical help-seeking behaviors among school-aged Omani adolescents. Integration of cancer education within high school curricula can aid cancer prevention and early intervention efforts. However, additional follow-up is required to confirm the long-term effectiveness of such programs.

Indexed as

NeoplasmsAdolescentChildHealth EducationHealth Knowledge, Attitudes, PracticeHumansRisk FactorsSchoolsStudentsBarriersCancer knowledgeEducationInterventionOmanSchool students

Identifiers

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Registered trials

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Read under generation 80e0d062 · epoch 390. Bibliography from PubMed, PubMed Central and OpenAlex; grants from NIH RePORTER; trial links from ClinicalTrials.gov; estimates, votes and beliefs from the OpenQuestion graph.