Colorectal Cancer Risk and Prevention Knowledge among Adults Attending Public Health Facilities ....

Background: In Nigeria, colorectal cancer (CRC) is the fifth most common cause of cancer-related death. CRC risk is multifactorial, as it is for other cancers, which involves factors such as poor diet, obesity, alcohol abuse, physical inactivity, age over 50, adenomatous polyps, inflammatory bowel disease, and a family history of CRCs or polyps.

The study's aim was to determine the level of awareness of CRC risk factors and preventive measures among adults who visited health facilities in Obudu, Cross River State, Nigeria.

The study was conducted using a descriptive survey research design.

Between 2017 and 2019, urban health facilities in Obudu Local Government Area, Cross River State, were examined.

The study's survey included 310 people who visited health-care facilities. The key tool for data collection was a formal questionnaire. Face validity was used in this study. The split-half approach was used to test the instrument's reliability with thirty adults in a nearby area.

Males had better knowledge of risk factors (75.3 percent) than females (45.8%), and males had better knowledge of CRC prevention (82.1 percent) than females (57.2 percent), suggesting a substantial correlation (P=.002, P=.003) between gender and knowledge of risk factors and CRC prevention, respectively. There were also important relationships between age (P=.007,.001) and educational level (P=.002,.006) and awareness of risk factors and CRC prevention. This revealed that knowledge of CRC was correlated with younger ages and higher education.

Conclusions: Women with limited awareness and those with a low educational level should be targeted with CRC messages. Health educators should ramp up their public awareness campaigns about the value of screening as a primary preventive measure against CRC in the home. The provision of services and screening facilities should be funded by the government and non-governmental organisations (NGOs).

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