What is the general Chinese public's awareness of and attitudes towards Helicobacter pylori screening and associated health behaviours? A cross-sectional study.

OBJECTIVE: To evaluate the general population's awareness of and attitudes toward Helicobacter pylori (HP) screening and health behaviours. DESIGN: Cross-sectional study. SETTING: Hengyang, Hunan Province, China. PARTICIPANTS: Using stratified cluster random sampling, a pretested structured questionnaire was used to interview members of the general population aged ≥18 years. PRIMARY AND SECONDARY OUTCOME MEASURES: Knowledge of and attitudes toward HP screening and associated health behaviours, sociodemographic factors associated with HP knowledge, and screening behaviours. RESULTS: This study featured 1042 participants. The average knowledge score was 11 (QL=4, QU=20, range 0-29). Approximately 68.9% of the participants said they had heard of HP, but 67.5% had never had an HP test. The most common reasons for not undergoing screening were 'no symptoms' (55.7%) and 'lack of knowledge regarding the benefits of the test' (21.1%). Independent factors related to knowledge included age, education level, occupation, HP infection, frequency of drinking unboiled water (p<0.05). Factors independently associated with screening behaviour included occupation, average monthly income, presence/absence of indigestion, stomach discomfort or pain, and/or stomach disease and knowledge score (p<0.05). Overall, 941 (90.3%) participants never used anti-HP toothpaste, and 442 (40.5%) never used serving spoons or chopsticks. The risk factors for HP infection included eating out and eating in groups (p<0.05). CONCLUSION: In China, the general population has poor knowledge of HP, but most people have a positive attitude towards HP screening. Being asymptomatic and lacking knowledge about testing were the main reasons for reluctance to be screened. These results highlight the urgent need for educational activities to raise awareness, enhance screening rates for HP, and encourage people to adopt a healthy lifestyle.

Awareness, attitude and barriers of colorectal cancer screening among high-risk populations in China: a cross-sectional study.

OBJECTIVE: To assess the awareness, attitude and barriers of colorectal cancer screening among high-risk populations in China. DESIGN: A cross-sectional study was employed. SETTING: This study was conducted in nine hospitals in Hunan province, China. PARTICIPANTS: Individuals with a high-risk for colorectal cancer were interviewed using a pretested structured questionnaire. PRIMARY AND SECONDARY OUTCOME MEASURES: Knowledge, attitude towards colorectal cancer screening, sociodemographic factors associated with screening knowledge and behaviour and barriers of colorectal cancer screening. RESULTS: This study included 684 participants. The mean knowledge score was 11.86/24 (SD 4.84). But over 70% of them held a positive attitude towards screening. Only 13.3% had undergone colorectal cancer screening. Independent factors related to knowledge were education level of college or above, working as a white collar, higher income, having health insurance, having seen a doctor in the past year and with a high perceived risk (p<0.05). Factors independently associated with screening behaviour included personal history of colorectal disease, having seen a doctor in the past year, previous discussion of colorectal cancer screening, high perceived risk and better knowledge (p<0.05). Main reasons for not undergoing screening were no symptoms or discomfort (71.1%), never having thought of the disease or screening (67.4%) and no doctor advised me (29.8%). CONCLUSION: In China, the majority of high-risk people had deficient knowledge and had never undergone colorectal cancer screening. But most of them held a positive attitude towards the benefits of colorectal cancer screening. This has promising implications to design targeted educational campaigns and establish screening programmes to improve colorectal cancer awareness and screening participation. Healthcare professionals should advise high-risk individuals to participate in screening and inform them about cancer risk.

Awareness of risk factors and warning symptoms and attitude towards gastric cancer screening among the general public in China: a cross-sectional study.

OBJECTIVES: This study aimed to assess the knowledge of risk factors and warning symptoms and attitude towards gastric cancer screening among the general population in China. SETTING: Hunan province, China PARTICIPANTS: Individuals aged older than 18 years were recruited using a cluster sampling method. DESIGN: A cross-sectional study, and a pretested structured questionnaire was used to assess participants' awareness of gastric cancer. PRIMARY AND SECONDARY OUTCOME MEASURES: Knowledge level of risk factors and warning symptoms of gastric cancer, gastric cancer screening attitude, sociodemographic factors associated with gastric cancer knowledge and screening behaviour. RESULTS: This study comprised 1200 participants with a mean age of 40.31 (SD 16.73) years, of whom 622 (51.8%) were women. The mean score for gastric cancer knowledge was 8.85/22 (SD 6.48). There were 47.0% of the participants who had a low knowledge level about the risk factors and warning symptoms of gastric cancer. In total, 83.8% believed screening is helpful for early detection of gastric cancer, and 15.2% had undergone gastric cancer screening. The most common reason for not undergoing screening was having 'no symptoms' (63.0%), followed by 'fear of undergoing gastroscopy' (38.1%). Independent factors related to lower knowledge levels included male sex, living in rural areas, lower educational level, working as a farmer and without a family history of gastric cancer (p<0.05). Factors independently associated with screening behaviour included white-collar employment, higher income and having upper gastrointestinal tract diseases (p<0.05). CONCLUSIONS: In China, people have poor knowledge about risk factors and warning symptoms of gastric cancer, but a majority have a positive attitude towards the benefits of gastric cancer screening. Being asymptomatic and having a fear of gastroscopy were the main self-reported reasons for not undergoing screening. These results highlight the urgent need for educational campaigns to improve gastric cancer awareness.