Assessment of Undergraduate University Students’ Knowledge and Awareness of Oral Cancers in Brunei Darussalam

Aims: The objective of this study is to assess current level of awareness and knowledge of oral cancer among undergraduate students in Brunei Darussalam

Study Design: Cross-sectional study using self-administered questionnaire

Methodology: The English language self-administered questionnaires were distributed to a random sample of undergraduates in the two universities. The respective university representatives distributed the questionnaires to students from random modules. 184 students from UBD and 198 students from UTB were included. The questionnaire has been pretested by 5 university students before the study began.

Results: A total of 392 students completed the questionnaires. Only 46.4% of the students were aware of the term ‘oral cancer’ and mere 1.5% were able to identify oral cancer diagnostic tests. Overall oral cancer knowledge level was low with a mean knowledge score of 37.3% only. However, 76.3% (95%CI: 71.9, 80.3) were able to identify tobacco smoking as a risk factor followed by poor oral hygiene 55.5% (95%CI: 61.6, 71.2) and 53.3% (95%CI: 48.2, 58.3) chewing tobacco or betel nut.

Conclusion: Oral cancer awareness and knowledge among undergraduates is poor. Effective oral cancer promotion and education by relevant agencies are highly suggested, particularly in tertiary education settings.