Assessment of the Knowledge, Attitude and Perceptions to Radiotherapy Among Final Year Medical Students Of Abia State University Medical School In Aba, South East Nigeria

Radiotherapy, also called Radiation therapy, is a very important treatment modality of most cancers and some benign conditions. It is a loco- regional modality of management. When the beam is given from an external source it is termed external Beam Radiotherapy. When Radiotherapy (RT) is given by the implantation of radioactive seeds into a body cavity, it is termed Brachytherapy. Radiotherapy is associated with several adverse effects causing a poor attitude and perception among the public. The aim of this study was to assess the knowledge, attitude and perception to radiotherapy by final year medical students of Abia State University Medical School who are graduating to become doctors - major caregivers to the patients. It was a cross-sectional study involving the use of structured questionnaires written in English Language and distributed to the medical students to complete and return. A total of 120 questionnaires were given out with 108 fully completed and returned. All the students 108 (100%) had heard about radiotherapy but only 56 (51.85%) had heard about external Beam Radiotherapy while only 44 (40.74%) had heard about Brachytherapy. Class lectures constituted the most common source of information on Radiotherapy with 72 (66.6%), Majority, 73 (67.59%) felt that malignancy was the only indication for radiotherapy while 25 (23.15%) rightly felt it can also be used for some other Benign conditions. 92 (85.18%) knew about the adverse effects of RT but sadly only 56 (51.85%) were willing to recommend it to people when indicated. Only 56 (51.85%) had good attitude and perception towards RT, while 50 (46.29%) had poor attitude and perception. Of the 50 students with poor perception, 30 (60%) were due to fear of adverse effects while 14 (28%) where due to the fear of second cancer and only 6 (12%) were due to high cost of radiation treatment. Knowledge, attitude and perception were found to be poor among final year medical students, a group of major care givers whose positive attitude and perception is critical in influencing the attitude and perception of the patients towards RT.