The awareness of men over forty years of age about colorectal malignancy

Abstract

Colorectal cancer (CRC) is the third most common cancer among men. This tendency will increase in years to come. CRC can be prevented by utilizing screening tests which in the long run increase the chance of better prognosis. Limited amount of studies have been performed about the awareness of CRC. Therefore this study may provide interesting findings about this subject among men in the Maltese Islands. By using a survey, a nineteen-item self reporting questionnaire was delivered amongst males over forty years of age in the public area setting. The total sample size of this study is thirty participants. The completed questionnaires were collected and imputed in a Microsoft Excel spreadsheet as raw data. The spreadsheet was used to analyse the data of the closed and open questions after being quantified. This resulted in representable data. All matching responses were grouped together to make up one theme. The results show that the knowledge and awareness about CRC is lacking. The majority of the participants agree that the family physicians as well as television are important sources for acquiring knowledge. Besides that, those who heard about CRC alleged that their knowledge was mainly acquired from television. In spite of this, detailed information was generally absent. Although most participants are being encouraged to undergo regular medical check-ups, it does not necessarily mean that they do so. An important recommendation for education is that men take-up information differently than women. Therefore the educational sources should be tailor-made for the views of men. A screening programme should be made available based on non-modifiable risk factors to increase earlier detection and prevention. A recommendation for the researcher would be to collect information regarding the participants' personal health behaviours, attitudes towards CRC screening and education. Also, the performance of a longitudinal study would reflect the effect of education on knowledge. This study outlines that the most susceptible age group has very limited knowledge about this important health issue.