Knowledge and Attitudes of Medical Students Regarding Colorectal Cancer Screening in Lome

Abstract

Aim: The objective of this study was to evalute among medical students of the university of lome the knowledge and practice about colorectal cancer screening.

Method: A cross-sectional study was conducted from March to May 2020 among medical students of the university of Lome. The data were analyzed by STATA 2013 software.

Results: The fecal immunochemical test and Fecal occult blood was known by 51.5% of the respondents. students who were unaware of the existence of these tests were 99.1% undergraduate students. The variables statistically associated with the knowledge of these tests were age over 22 years (p < 0.001) and the effectiveness of an internship in a department of oncology or digestive pathology (p < 0.001). the majority of students (88.1%) knew the frequency of performing these tests, and 28.4% had already requested at least one of these tests, either as part of a screening (93.5%), or in front of a symptomatology of lower gastrointestinal tract (6.4%). Colonoscopy was unknown by 52% of the students. Undergraduate students represented 97.3% of the group not aware of the existence of colonoscopy. The only variable associated with knowledge of colonoscopy was the effectiveness of an internship in an oncology or digestive pathology department (p < 0.001).

Conclusion: The data of our study would suggest that there remain areas that need improvement and that there are several implications for future curriculum development in preventative medicine in general and colorectal cancer screening in particular.