Abstract
The recent increase in cancer epidemiology in Saudi Arabia might be due to the lack of health education and cancer awareness towards cancer prevention measures. Therefore, the present study aimed to assess demographic characteristics in attitude towards cancer prevention some measures in the Hail region, Saudi Arabia. This is a descriptive cross-sectional study conducted in Hail Region, Northern Saudi Arabia, during the period from June 2020 to December 2020. Out of focus on population, 420 individuals have responded. The respondents were included in the study regardless of their age, sex, or other demographical characteristics. For the question "Cancer is a malignant tissue swelling only, not any lesion," 397(94.5%) responded, "Yes." For the question "Any tissue lesion in the body is cancer," 32(7.6%) answered "Yes," included 23/323(7.1%) were males, and 9/97(9.3%) were females. Most participants got their information about cancer from "social media" followed by "When a relative diagnosed with cancer" and Awareness campaign, representing 166/420(39.5%), 142/420(33.8%), and 58/420(13.8%), respectively. For the question "Some food can prevent cancer, and others increase the risk," 201(47.9%) responded "Yes," including 151/323(46.7%) males and 50/97(51.5%) females. About 125(30%) of the participants believe that tobacco smoking cannot cause cancer, including 90/323(27.9%) males and 35/97(36%) females. Conclusion: The Northern Saudi population's demographical characteristics have a strong influence on an individual's attitude towards cancer prevention and control measures. Increased age and education level have a positive impact on a better attitude towards cancer prevention measures.