Conhecimentos e atitudes dos estudantes de faculdades de medicina dentária portuguesas na prevenção e diagnóstico precoce do cancro oral

  • António Carlos da Costa Andrade (Student)

Student thesis: Master's Thesis

Abstract

Introduction: Oral cancer as we know it, is a disease that presents a high rate of morbidity and mortality. It’s defined by the Internacional Classification of Diseases as the “malignant tumors that affect any location in the oral cavity, from the lips to the throat (including the tonsils and pharynx). In Portugal, 1200 new cases and 420 deaths arise annually. Objectives: Determine the knowledge and attitudes of dental students from the 4th and 5th year of Portuguese universities and identify the gaps in knowledge and practice. Materials and Methods: A cross-sectional descriptive observational study with dental students from the 4th and 5th year studying in Portugal. The instrument of data collection was applied online in the form of a questionnaire and arose from the questionnaires developed originally by Horowitz (200) and Dib (2003), and adapted by Rodrigues (2013), Pinto (2021), Vozzo and Silva (2023), divided into groups: Group I – Sample characterization; Group II – Opinion; Group III – Knowledge; Group IV – Clinical practice. The statistical analysis was conducted using the SPSS software version 26.0 using the non-parametric Mann-Whitney and Kruskal-Wallis tests, regarding the significance value of 5%. Results: 105 students participated, 43,8% (n=46) identified themselves as 4th years and 56,2% (n=59) in the 5th years. 96,2% (n=101) of the students identified partially the risk factors. Similarly, 96,2% students identified partially the locations, 95,2%% the lesions and 67,6% the characteristics known to have higher risk of malignancy. 73,3% (n=77) have identified carcinoma as the most common type of cancer. 85,7% (n=90) identified “over 40 years” as the common age to develop oral cancer and 51,4% (n=54) identified the male gender as the most affected gender. 82,9% include the lymph nodes and 93,3% the mucous membrane, tongue, floor of the mouth and retromolar region in their intra-oral exam. Conclusions: There is a fundamental need to improve upon the identified gaps in knowledge, so that dental medicine students can, effectively, act when oral cancer is identified, both in the early diagnostic, or during the late stages of the cancer.
Date of Award19 Jul 2024
Original languagePortuguese
Awarding Institution
  • Universidade Católica Portuguesa
SupervisorPatrícia Couto (Supervisor), Nélio Jorge Veiga (Co-Supervisor) & Tiago Marques (Co-Supervisor)

Keywords

  • Atitudes
  • Knowledge
  • Dental students
  • Attitudes

Designation

  • Mestrado em Medicina Dentária

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