Oral cancer knowledge and opinions among Maryland nurse practitioners

Objectives: As part of a Maryland statewide oral cancer needs assessment, a census of adult and family practice nurse practitioners was conducted to d etermine their knowledge of oral cancer risk factors, diagnostic procedures and related opinions. Methods: Information was obtained through a preteste d, 40-item, self-administered mail questionnaire of 389 nurse practitioners . A second complete mailing was sent three weeks after the initial mailing, two postal card reminders were mailed at 10 and 17 days after the second m ailing, which yielded a response rate of 56 percent. Results: Most nurse pr actitioners identified the use of tobacco, alcohol, and prior oral cancer l esions as real risk factors. But only 35 percent identified exposure to the sun as a risk for lip cancer. Respondents were not overly knowledgeable ab out the early signs of oral cancer, most common forms, or sites for oral ca ncer. Only 19 percent believed their knowledge of oral cancer was current N urse practitioners who reported having a continuing education course on ora l cancer within the past two to five years were 3.1 times more likely to ha ve a high score on knowledge of risk factors and 2.9 times more likely to h ave a high score on knowledge of both risk factors and of diagnostic proced ures than were those who had never had a continuing education course. Concl usions: The reported knowledge of oral cancer, in conjunction with opinions about level of knowledge and training, point to a need for systematic educ ational updates in oral cancer prevention and early detection.