title: Public knowledge, beliefs and practices in Greece about cancer etiology and prevention.
abstract: This questionnaire survey of the parents of elementary schoolchildren in Greece assessed their self-reported knowledge, attitudes and practices towards smoking, diet and exposure to X-radiation. A random sample of 403 household units (379 fathers and 391 mothers) was selected from urban areas of Thessaloniki. Half of the parents who smoked (50.1%) did not ask for permission to smoke from other people and 66.0% regularly smoked in front of their children. On the other hand, 82.6% of smokers recognized the existence of a health risk to children from passive smoking. Parents overestimated the role of nuclear tests and accidents as factors in carcinogenesis. Two-thirds of parents did not know the beneficial role of the Mediterranean diet to health, and dietary intake analysis showed some departure from the traditional Mediterranean diet. A reconsideration of the policy regarding health education programmes concerning cancer prevention in Greece is needed.
authors.affiliation: Department of Physiology, Clinical Unit, loannina University Medical School, loannina, Greece. kcharala@cc.uoi.gr
authors.forename: K
authors.initials: K
authors.lastname: Charalabopoulos
authors.forename: G
authors.initials: G
authors.lastname: Makris
authors.forename: A
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Charalabopoulos
authors.forename: C
authors.initials: C
authors.lastname: Golias
authors.forename: K
authors.initials: K
authors.lastname: Athanasiou
mesh_terms: D003625:Data Collection; D004032:Diet / Q000706:statistics & numerical data*; D005260:Female; D006115:Greece / Q000453:epidemiology; D007722:Health Knowledge, Attitudes, Practice; D006801:Humans; D008297:Male; D009369:Neoplasms / Q000209:etiology* / Q000517:prevention & control; D012907:Smoking / Q000453:epidemiology* / Q000523:psychology; D011795:Surveys and Questionnaires; D014965:X-Rays