Brief Article
Copyright ©2012 Baishideng Publishing Group Co., Limited. All rights reserved.
World J Gastrointest Endosc. Nov 16, 2012; 4(11): 513-517
Published online Nov 16, 2012. doi: 10.4253/wjge.v4.i11.513
Awareness and attitudes of Greek medical students on colorectal cancer screening
Ioannis S Papanikolaou, Athanasios D Sioulas, Stylianos Kalimeris, Persephone Papatheodosiou, Ioannis Karabinis, Olga Agelopoulou, Iosif Beintaris, Dimitrios Polymeros, George Dimitriadis, Konstantinos Triantafyllou
Ioannis S Papanikolaou, Athanasios D Sioulas, Stylianos Kalimeris, Persephone Papatheodosiou, Ioannis Karabinis, Olga Agelopoulou, Iosif Beintaris, Dimitrios Polymeros, George Dimitriadis, Konstantinos Triantafyllou, Hepatogastroenterology Unit, 2nd Department of Internal Medicine and Research Unit, Attikon University General Hospital, Medical School, Athens University, 12462 Haidari, Greece
Author contributions: Papanikolaou IS conceived and designed the study, initially revised and approved the manuscript; Sioulas AD drafted, revised and approved the manuscript; Kalimeris S, Papatheodosiou P, Karabinis I, Agelopoulou O, Beintaris I and Polymeros D collected data, revised and approved the manuscript; Dimitriadis G and Triantafyllou K conceived the study, critically revised and approved the manuscript.
Correspondence to: Dr. Athanasios D Sioulas, Hepatogastroenterology Unit, 2nd Department of Internal Medicine and Research Unit, Attikon University General Hospital, Medical School, Athens University, Rimini 1, 12462 Haidari, Greece. athsioulas@yahoo.gr
Telephone: +30-210-5832090 Fax: +30-210-5326422
Received: December 10, 2011
Revised: September 25, 2012
Accepted: October 26, 2012
Published online: November 16, 2012
Abstract

AIM: To prospectively assess the knowledge and attitudes of medical students (MS), as tomorrow’s physicians, about colorectal cancer (CRC) and its screening modalities.

METHODS: Three hundred fourth year MS of the University of Athens were enrolled in this survey. Their selection was random, based on student identification card number. All participants completed an anonymous written questionnaire over a 4 month period. The questionnaire was divided into 4 sections and included queries about CRC-related symptoms, screening with colonoscopy and MS awareness and attitudes in this field. Following collection and analysis of the data, the results are presented as percentages of answers for each separate question.

RESULTS: Two hundred and sixty-five students answered the questionnaire over a 4 mo period. Interestingly, only 69% of the study population considered CRC to be a high-risk condition for public health. However, the vast majority of participants identified CRC-related symptoms and acknowledged its screening to be of great value in reducing CRC incidence and mortality. A very small proportion (38%) had received information material regarding CRC screening (either during their medical training or as a part of information provided to the general public) and only 60% of the participants declared willingness to receive further information. Regarding colonoscopy, 85% would prefer an alternative to colonoscopy methods for CRC screening. Moreover, 53% considered it to be a painful method and 68% would appreciate more information about the examination.

CONCLUSION: MS in Greece need to be better informed about CRC screening and screening colonoscopy.

Keywords: Screening; Medical students; Colorectal cancer; Attitudes