Comparison of Cancer Awareness Levels of Physiotherapy and Rehabilitation Students Who Took and Did Not Take Cancer Prevention Course

Aim; The aim of this study was to compare the cancer awareness levels of physiotherapy and rehabilitation students who took or did not take cancer prevention course Method; A total of 106 second-grade students who were studying physiotherapy and rehabilitation and who took a cancer prevention course (n=53) and who did not (n=53) were included in the study which was planned as a cross-sectional study. Students' cancer awareness levels were evaluated with the Cancer Awareness Survey (CAS). Independent sample t-test was used to compare the CAS total scores of students who took and did not take a cancer prevention course, and the chi-square test was used to compare the rates of students' correct answers to the questions in the CAS. Results; The rate of female students who took cancer prevention course was lower than the rate of female students who did not take cancer prevention course, and the smoking habit rate of students who took cancer prevention course was higher than the smoking habit rate of students who did not take cancer prevention course (p=0.019, p˂0.001, respectively). Other socio-demographic characteristics of students who took and did not take a cancer prevention course were similar (p˃0.050). The cancer awareness levels of students who took cancer prevention course were higher than students who did not take cancer prevention course (p˂0.001). It was observed that students who took cancer prevention courses answered 43 of the 54 questions (79.62%) in the CAS correctly at a higher rate. Conclusion; It is recommended to include cancer-related courses in physiotherapy and rehabilitation course teaching plans in order to increase the existing cancer awareness level in physiotherapy and rehabilitation students who are expected to take an active role in the process of raising public awareness about cancer prevention strategies and cancer rehabilitation after their graduation.