title: Knowledgeability, Attitude and Behavior of Primary Care Providers Towards Oral Cancer: a Pilot Study.
abstract: The objective of this study was to assess current knowledgeability, attitudes, and practice behaviors of primary care providers (PCPs) towards oral cancer screening. Applying a cross-sectional design, a 14-question survey was emailed to 307 PCPs practicing at a large, multi-specialty, rurally based healthcare system. Survey data were collected and managed using REDCap and analyzed applying descriptive statistics. A 20 % response rate (n = 61/307) was achieved for survey completion. Approximately 70 % of respondents were physicians, 16 % were nurse practitioners, and 13 % were physician assistants. Nearly 60 % of respondents were family medicine practitioners. Limited training surrounding oral cancer screening during medical training was reported by 64 %. Although 78 % of respondents reported never performing oral cancer screening on patients in their practice, >90 % answered knowledge-based questions correctly. Frequency rate for specialist referral for suspicious lesions by PCPs was 56 % "frequently". Optimal periodicity for oral cancer screening on all patients selected by respondents was 61 % "annually", 3 % "every 6 months", 3 % "every visit", 2 % "not at all", and 31 % "unsure". This study established a baseline surrounding current knowledgeability, practice patterns, and opinions of PCPs towards oral cancer screening at a single, large, regional healthcare system. In the absence of evidence-based support for population-based cancer screening, this study result suggests a need for better integration of oral cancer surveillance into the medical setting, supplemented by education and training with emphasis on assessment of high-risk patients to achieve early detection. Prospectively, larger studies are needed to validate these findings.
authors.affiliation: Institute for Oral and Systemic Health, Marshfield Clinic Research Foundation, 1000 North Oak Avenue, Marshfield, WI, 54449, USA.
authors.forename: Neel
authors.initials: N
authors.lastname: Shimpi
authors.affiliation: Institute for Oral and Systemic Health, Marshfield Clinic Research Foundation, 1000 North Oak Avenue, Marshfield, WI, 54449, USA.|Family Health Center of Marshfield, 1307 N St. Joseph Avenue, Marshfield, WI, 54449, USA.|Division of Education, Marshfield Clinic Research Foundation, 1000 North Oak Avenue, Marshfield, WI, 54449, USA.
authors.forename: Aditi
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Bharatkumar
authors.affiliation: Institute for Oral and Systemic Health, Marshfield Clinic Research Foundation, 1000 North Oak Avenue, Marshfield, WI, 54449, USA.|Family Health Center of Marshfield, 1307 N St. Joseph Avenue, Marshfield, WI, 54449, USA.|Division of Education, Marshfield Clinic Research Foundation, 1000 North Oak Avenue, Marshfield, WI, 54449, USA.
authors.forename: Monica
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Jethwani
authors.affiliation: Division of Education, Marshfield Clinic Research Foundation, 1000 North Oak Avenue, Marshfield, WI, 54449, USA.
authors.forename: Po-Huang
authors.initials: PH
authors.lastname: Chyou
authors.affiliation: Institute for Oral and Systemic Health, Marshfield Clinic Research Foundation, 1000 North Oak Avenue, Marshfield, WI, 54449, USA.
authors.forename: Ingrid
authors.initials: I
authors.lastname: Glurich
authors.affiliation: Institute for Oral and Systemic Health, Marshfield Clinic Research Foundation, 1000 North Oak Avenue, Marshfield, WI, 54449, USA.
authors.forename: Jake
authors.initials: J
authors.lastname: Blamer
authors.affiliation: Institute for Oral and Systemic Health, Marshfield Clinic Research Foundation, 1000 North Oak Avenue, Marshfield, WI, 54449, USA. acharya.amit@mcrf.mfldclin.edu.|Biomedical Informatics Research Center, Marshfield Clinic Research Foundation, 1000 North Oak Avenue, Marshfield, WI, 54449, USA. acharya.amit@mcrf.mfldclin.edu.
authors.forename: Amit
authors.identifier: 0000-0003-2806-3524
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Acharya
mesh_terms: D000293:Adolescent; D000328:Adult; D000368:Aged; D000369:Aged, 80 and over; D001291:Attitude of Health Personnel; D003430:Cross-Sectional Studies; D055088:Early Detection of Cancer / Q000523:psychology*; D005260:Female; D007722:Health Knowledge, Attitudes, Practice; D006801:Humans; D008297:Male; D008875:Middle Aged; D009062:Mouth Neoplasms / Q000175:diagnosis / Q000517:prevention & control*; D009722:Nurse Practitioners / Q000523:psychology; D010820:Physicians / Q000523:psychology*; D010865:Pilot Projects; D010818:Practice Patterns, Physicians' / Q000706:statistics & numerical data*; D011320:Primary Health Care / Q000706:statistics & numerical data*; D011795:Surveys and Questionnaires; D055815:Young Adult
keywords: Health knowledge, attitudes, practice; Healthcare surveys; Interdisciplinary health team; Mouth neoplasms; Patient care team