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.

Examination of a Nurse-led Community-based Education and Coaching Intervention for Coronary Heart Disease High-risk Individuals in China.

PURPOSE: Early detection and management of coronary heart disease (CHD) are embedded into many community health service and primary care practices in western countries. The Framingham CHD risk score has been used to predict CHD and mortality for nearly 20 years, and it has predicted CHD event risk accurately in multiethnic populations. The aim of this study was to access the effect of a 6-month community-based intervention on CHD risk in individuals at high risk. METHODS: A randomized controlled trial of individuals with a high 10-year CHD risk were recruited from two communities in China. Individuals in the intervention group (n = 53) received a 3-month group education and a 3-month coaching session. Physical examination and self-report questionnaires were used to collect both pre- and postintervention data on blood pressure, glucose, cholesterol, body mass index, smoking, depression, and health-related quality of life (HRQoL). RESULTS: A total of 102 participants (85.0%) completed the 6-month study. Compared with the usual care group, the intervention group had a 5 mmHg greater reduction in systolic blood pressure (t = 2.01, p = .047), larger declines in glucose (t = -2.49, p = .015), cholesterol (t = -2.44, p = .017), body mass index (t = -2.58, p = .011), and depression (t = -2.05, p = .043), and better reports of HRQoL (t = 3.36, p = .001). No significant group differences in smoking behaviors were reported. CONCLUSION: A 6-month community-based intervention in a CHD high-risk population improved disease-related risk factors, depression, and HRQoL. Results provide preliminary evidence for primary prevention of cardiovascular disease risk in a community high-risk population.