Evaluation of public beliefs about colorectal cancer screening in adults 50-69 years old

Colorectal cancer is considered as a major health prolem and the fourth most common cancer in the world. One of the ways to promote adult public health is cancer screening and timely treatment measures. This study was conducted in order to determine people's beliefs about colorectal cancer screening in urban and rural population aged 50-69 years old in Fereydunkenar city.

in this descriptive-analytical, 220 subjects aged 50-69 years referred to health care centers in Fereydunkenar city in winter 2019 were included in the study. Samples were selected using cluster sampling method. A demographic questionnaire along with Champion Health Belief Model were used to assess people beliefs. All stages of the present study were carried out based on ethical standards. Data were analyzed using SPSS20 software and descriptive statistics and logistic regression.

The results indicated that the self-efficacy construct had the highest mean and perceived susceptibility construct had the lowest mean score among the subclasses of health belief model. Variables such as cancer, perceived susceptibility, perceived severity and perceived barriers were significantly associated with colon cancer screening.

The results of this study showed that knowledge and screening behaviors among people over 50 years old was low. Half of participants did not understand the susceptibility to colorectal cancer, and more than half understood barriers to screening.