DOI: 10.36347/sajb.2018.v06i07.003

Pages: 485-499

Oral cancer is one of the most lethal health problems faced by the human race today. In India, because of varying cultural, ethnic, geographic diversities and the indiscreet popularity of addictive habits, the frequency of oral cancer is very high. Early recognition and referral is essential as less treatment is needed and cure rates and 'quality of life' are much better. The study emphasizes on oral cancer awareness and knowledge among undergraduate medical students, nursing students and paramedical staff (lab technicians) as there is a dearth of information regarding the same in an Indian medical set up especially regarding medical students and paramedical staff. An institution based cross sectional, observational and descriptive survey was conducted among 137 undergraduate medical students, 67 nurses and 10 paramedical staff (lab technicians). Knowledge and attitude based questions were included in the questionnaire distributed among the study groups and were evaluated using Likert’s scale. A decent percentage of participants from all the three study groups had a good knowledge score and positive attitude regarding oral cancer. However, most of the participants agreed with the need for more awareness programs. The outcomes of the study underline the tireless efforts the medical fraternity needs to put in to train our present and future health care providers to win the battle against oral cancer.