Awareness of the European Code Against Cancer of Family Medicine Residents and Nursing and Medicine Students in Spain

Luis Ángel Pérula-de Torres; Esperanza Romero-Rodríguez; José Ignacio Moscosio-Cuevas; Roger Ruiz-Moral; Celia Jiménez-García; Antonio Ranchal-Sanchez; Sara Palenzuela-Paniagua

doi:10.1007/s13187-020-01736-y

Awareness of the European Code Against Cancer of Family Medicine Residents and Nursing and Medicine Students in Spain

J Cancer Educ. 2021 Oct;36(5):1069-1074. doi: 10.1007/s13187-020-01736-y.

Authors

Affiliations

¹ Instituto Maimónides de Investigación Biomédica de Córdoba (IMIBIC), Hospital Universitario Reina Sofía, Universidad de Córdoba, Avda. Menéndez Pidal s/n, 14011, Córdoba, Spain. langel.perula.sspa@juntadeandalucia.es.
² Unidad Docente Multiprofesional de Atención Familiar y Comunitaria de Córdoba, Córdoba, Spain. langel.perula.sspa@juntadeandalucia.es.
³ Grupo de Evaluación y mejora del Programa de Actividades Preventivas y de Promoción de la Salud (PAPPS), de la Sociedad Española de Medicina Familiar y Comunitaria (semFYC), Barcelona, Spain. langel.perula.sspa@juntadeandalucia.es.
⁴ Instituto Maimónides de Investigación Biomédica de Córdoba (IMIBIC), Hospital Universitario Reina Sofía, Universidad de Córdoba, Avda. Menéndez Pidal s/n, 14011, Córdoba, Spain.
⁵ Grupo de Evaluación y mejora del Programa de Actividades Preventivas y de Promoción de la Salud (PAPPS), de la Sociedad Española de Medicina Familiar y Comunitaria (semFYC), Barcelona, Spain.
⁶ Boston University School of Public Health, Boston, MA, USA.
⁷ Unidad Docente Multiprofesional de Atención Familiar y Comunitaria de Córdoba, Córdoba, Spain.
⁸ Universidad Francisco de Vitoria, Madrid, Spain.
⁹ Distrito Sanitario Córdoba y Guadalquivir, Córdoba, Spain.
¹⁰ Teaching Unit of Family and Community Medicine of Ceuta, Ceuta, Spain.
¹¹ Group of the Adolescent, Andalusian Society of Family and Community Medicine (SAMFyC), Calle Al-Andalus, 21, 14011, Córdoba, Spain.

PMID: 32207062
DOI: 10.1007/s13187-020-01736-y

Abstract

Health professionals and students in training are key for early diagnosis of cancer. The objective of this study was to evaluate the awareness of Family Medicine (FM) residents and Medicine and Nursing undergraduate students in Spain regarding the European Code Against Cancer (ECAC). This was a descriptive, cross-sectional, and multicenter study.

Location: Teaching Units of FM of Cordoba and Ceuta and Schools of Medicine and Nursing of the Universities of Cordoba and Francisco de Vitoria of Madrid (Spain).

Participants: residents of FM and Medicine and Nursing undergraduate Spanish students.

Intervention: self-administered questionnaire to assess the awareness about the ECAC. A total of 651 subjects participated (52.4% [95% CI 48.5-56.2] Nursing students, 34% [95% CI 30.3-37.6] Medicine students, and 13.6% [95% CI 11.0-16.3] FM residents). Of the total subjects participated, 74.8% were women. Mean age: 22.34 years (standard deviation, 4.68; range, 18-52; 95% CI, 21.98-22.70). A total of 76.8% (95% CI 73.5-80.1) declared to be unaware of the ECAC. Those referring to be aware of the ECAC mainly knew it through degree subjects (7.5% [95% CI 5.5.5-9.6]). Residents of FM (p < 0.001), older participants (p < 0.001), and those belonging to the Teaching Units (p = 0.002) showed a better awareness of the ECAC. Our findings reveal the unawareness on the ECAC in three out of four participants. The access to the advice described in the ECAC through the Medicine and Nursing Schools and FM Teaching Units is poor. The awareness of the ECAC of postgraduate residents is higher than that the awareness of the undergraduate students.

Keywords: Cancer prevention; European Code Against Cancer; Healthcare professionals; Primary Care; Undergraduate students.

Publication types

Multicenter Study

MeSH terms

Adult
Cross-Sectional Studies
Family Practice
Female
Humans
Neoplasms* / diagnosis
Spain
Students, Medical*
Students, Nursing*
Surveys and Questionnaires
Young Adult