Saleh Doa'a A, Amr Sania, Jillson Irene A, Wang Judy Huei-yu, Crowell Nancy, Loffredo Christopher A
Cairo University, Cairo, Egypt.
University of Maryland, Baltimore, MD, USA.
BMC Res Notes. 2015 Aug 29;8:384. doi: 10.1186/s13104-015-1351-1.
Hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC), one of the most fatal malignancies, is particularly prevalent in Egypt, where we previously found deficiencies in knowledge concerning HCC and its risk factors. Hepatitis B and C viral infections are highly prevalent in Egypt, pesticides are very commonly used, and diets are often contaminated by aflatoxin, especially in rural areas.
We conducted a study to pilot test a health education intervention addressing HCC, its risk factors, and its main modes of prevention. It included four health education modules: HCC, hepatitis viruses, pesticides and aflatoxin. We used a pre- and post-intervention set of questionnaires to assess knowledge gained by the participants.
A total of 25 participants from a village in the Nile Delta area attended the health education session and completed the questionnaires. The education intervention significantly increased the participants' knowledge on HCC and its risk factors, particularly regarding the use of pesticides at home and aflatoxin contaminated foods (both p < 0.05). Overall, there was a 12% increase in the number of participants who believed that HCC could be prevented, and they reported their intention to practice prevention for HCC risk factors.
We found that the education intervention we pilot tested was feasible and proved effective in increasing participants' knowledge. Future efforts should focus on implementing targeted education programs in high-risk populations in Egypt.
肝细胞癌（HCC）是最致命的恶性肿瘤之一，在埃及尤为普遍，我们之前发现那里关于HCC及其危险因素的知识存在欠缺。乙型和丙型肝炎病毒感染在埃及高度流行，农药使用非常普遍，而且饮食常常受到黄曲霉毒素污染，尤其是在农村地区。
我们开展了一项研究，对针对HCC及其危险因素和主要预防方式的健康教育干预措施进行试点测试。该干预措施包括四个健康教育模块：HCC、肝炎病毒、农药和黄曲霉毒素。我们使用干预前后的一套问卷来评估参与者所获得的知识。
尼罗河三角洲地区一个村庄的25名参与者参加了健康教育课程并完成了问卷。教育干预显著增加了参与者对HCC及其危险因素的知识，特别是关于在家中使用农药和黄曲霉毒素污染食品方面的知识（两者p < 0.05）。总体而言，认为HCC可预防的参与者人数增加了12%，并且他们表示打算对HCC危险因素采取预防措施。
我们发现我们试点测试的教育干预措施是可行的，并且在增加参与者知识方面证明是有效的。未来的工作应侧重于在埃及的高危人群中实施有针对性的教育项目。
