Bridging the Gap in Cancer Prevention: Impact of a Structured Cancer Awareness and Counselling on Cancer Knowledge, Risk Perception, and Screening Awareness Among Adult Women an Observational Pre-Post-Test Study

Vollständiger Abstract

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Background: Cancer is a major global public health challenge, accounting for nearly 20 million new cases and 9.7 million deaths worldwide in 2022. In India, breast, cervical, and oral cancers constitute a substantial proportion of cancers among women. Despite the availability of effective preventive measures and screening programmes, awareness regarding cancer risk factors, early warning signs, hereditary cancer, genetic counselling, and screening remains inadequate, resulting in delayed diagnosis and poorer outcomes. Structured educational interventions may improve cancer literacy and encourage preventive health practices. Objectives: To evaluate the effectiveness of a structured cancer awareness and counselling intervention in improving knowledge regarding common cancers, hereditary cancer, genetic counselling, cancer prevention, and screening among adult women aged 30–70 years. Methods: A prospective questionnaire-based pre–post educational study was conducted among 300 women aged 30–70 years residing in urban and rural areas of Nagpur, Maharashtra, India. Participants completed a structured, validated questionnaire before and immediately after a standardized cancer awareness and counselling session covering common cancers, risk factors, warning symptoms, screening, HPV vaccination, hereditary cancer, genetic counselling, and preventive practices. Data were analysed using IBM SPSS Statistics version 29.0. Paired t-tests assessed changes in awareness scores, while Cohen’s d measured effect size. Associations between baseline awareness and sociodemographic variables were analysed using one-way ANOVA. Results: Structured counselling produced significant improvements across all awareness domains (p