Health Seeking Behavior of Oral Cancer Patients of Low Socioeconomic Status: A cross sectional study in a Tertiary Care Hospital of Karachi

• Published in: Journal of the Dow University of Health Sciences Vol. 8; no. 2; pp. 72 - 79
• Main Authors: Tariq Zahid, Syed Iqbal Hussain, Atif Hafeez Siddiqui, Syeda Tehmina Junaid, Zeba Ahmed, Muhammad Muslim Noorani
• Format: Journal Article
• Language: English
• Published: Dow University of Health Sciences 01.08.2014
• Subjects: behavior; betel nut; gutka; low socioeconomic status; oral cancer
• ISSN: 1995-2198

Purpose: To assess the knowledge, behavior and practices of oral cancer patients of low socioeconomic statusin our population. Method: This cross sectional study was conducted in Department of Otolaryngology Unit 1 and 2 of Civil Hospital, Karachi between August 2011 to August 2012. Only those cases were included in the studies whose diagnosis of oral cancer was confirmed by histopathological investigation. Questionnaire was designed and filled by investigators after validation and reliability assessment. Statistical Package for Social SciencesWindows version 17 was used for database assembly and analysis. Result: The mean age was found to be 48.3 ± 7.3 years with 119 males and 71 females (male to female ratio1.7:1). Most patients (82.1%) were of low socioeconomic status. From 190 cases, 88.9% admitted consumption of carcinogenic agents. Most patients (66.8%) used Gutka. Most patients (42.1%) presented with the lesion in the oral cavity. More than half (56.8%) first visited a doctor near their home, after appearance of symptom. Consultation to a doctor in any hospital, including the study center was reported by 35 (18.4%) of the cases. The mean disease appraisal time was 36.6±11.2 days. The mean illness time was 126.7±37.6 days. The mean behavioral time was 18.3±5.9 days. The mean scheduling time was 0.26±0.09 days. The mean treatment time was 6.3±1.9 days. The most common reason (81%) presented by patients for delayed presentation was lack of knowledge and education about the danger posed by their presenting complaints. Conclusion: In our population of low SES patients, we report poor knowledge status and dangerous practices of consumption of carcinogens. The patient health seeking behavior is related to their educational status. Most patients delay seeking help due to lack of awareness about the severity of symptoms. We propose organizationof multiple public health campaign to address the current problem at hand.