IDEAS home Printed from https://ideas.repec.org/a/gam/jijerp/v18y2021i21p11111-d662463.html
   My bibliography  Save this article

Perceptions and Practices of General Practitioners towards Oral Cancer and Emerging Risk Factors among Indian Immigrants in Australia: A Qualitative Study

Author

Listed:
  • Nidhi Saraswat

    (Centre for Oral Health Outcomes and Research Translation (COHORT), Ingham Institute for Applied Medical Research, School of Nursing and Midwifery, South Western Sydney Local Health District, Western Sydney University, Liverpool, NSW 1871, Australia
    School of Nursing and Midwifery, Western Sydney University, Parramatta, NSW 2116, Australia)

  • Rona Pillay

    (School of Nursing and Midwifery, Western Sydney University, Parramatta, NSW 2116, Australia)

  • Neeta Prabhu

    (Paediatric Dentistry, Faculty of Medicine and Health, School of Dentistry, The University of Sydney, Camperdown, NSW 2006, Australia
    Paediatric Dentistry, Westmead Centre for Oral Health, Sydney, NSW 2145, Australia)

  • Bronwyn Everett

    (Centre for Oral Health Outcomes and Research Translation (COHORT), Ingham Institute for Applied Medical Research, School of Nursing and Midwifery, South Western Sydney Local Health District, Western Sydney University, Liverpool, NSW 1871, Australia
    School of Nursing and Midwifery, Western Sydney University, Parramatta, NSW 2116, Australia)

  • Ajesh George

    (Centre for Oral Health Outcomes and Research Translation (COHORT), Ingham Institute for Applied Medical Research, School of Nursing and Midwifery, South Western Sydney Local Health District, Western Sydney University, Liverpool, NSW 1871, Australia
    School of Nursing and Midwifery, Western Sydney University, Parramatta, NSW 2116, Australia
    Faculty of Medicine and Health, School of Dentistry, The University of Sydney, Camperdown, NSW 2006, Australia)

Abstract

Background: In Australia, Indian immigrants are one of the fastest-growing communities. Since oral cancer is widespread in India, the indulgence of Indians in customs of areca (betel) nut use in Australia may be linked to the recent rise in oral cancer cases. Since GPs (general practitioners) are primary healthcare providers, it is pivotal to ensure the oral cancer awareness of GPs. This study aimed to explore oral cancer risk-related knowledge, beliefs, and clinical practices of GPs in Australia. Methods: Fourteen semi-structured interviews were conducted with GPs practicing across New South Wales and Victoria. Purposive and snowball sampling were used for recruitment. Data were analysed through a directed content analysis approach. Results: All GPs were knowledgeable of major oral cancer causative factors including tobacco and alcohol, but some had limited understanding about the risks associated with areca nut preparations. Positive attitudes were evident, with all participants acknowledging the importance of oral cancer risk assessment. Most GPs recalled not performing oral cancer routine check-ups. Conclusion: GPs presented good oral cancer knowledge except for emerging risk factors such as areca nut use. Varied beliefs and inconsistent clinical practices relating to oral cancer screening is concerning. Accessible oral cancer training around emerging risk factors may benefit GPs.

Suggested Citation

  • Nidhi Saraswat & Rona Pillay & Neeta Prabhu & Bronwyn Everett & Ajesh George, 2021. "Perceptions and Practices of General Practitioners towards Oral Cancer and Emerging Risk Factors among Indian Immigrants in Australia: A Qualitative Study," IJERPH, MDPI, vol. 18(21), pages 1-16, October.
    • Handle: RePEc:gam:jijerp:v:18:y:2021:i:21:p:11111-:d:662463
    as

    Download full text from publisher

    File URL: https://www.mdpi.com/1660-4601/18/21/11111/pdf
    Download Restriction: no
    File URL: https://www.mdpi.com/1660-4601/18/21/11111/
    Download Restriction: no
    ---><---

    Citations

    Citations are extracted by the CitEc Project, subscribe to its RSS feed for this item.
    as


    Cited by:

    1. Nidhi Saraswat & Bronwyn Everett & Rona Pillay & Neeta Prabhu & Amy Villarosa & Ajesh George, 2022. "Knowledge, Attitudes and Practices of Indian Immigrants in Australia towards Oral Cancer and Their Perceived Role of General Practitioners: A Cross-Sectional Study," IJERPH, MDPI, vol. 19(14), pages 1-16, July.

    Corrections

    All material on this site has been provided by the respective publishers and authors. You can help correct errors and omissions. When requesting a correction, please mention this item's handle: RePEc:gam:jijerp:v:18:y:2021:i:21:p:11111-:d:662463. See general information about how to correct material in RePEc.

    If you have authored this item and are not yet registered with RePEc, we encourage you to do it here. This allows to link your profile to this item. It also allows you to accept potential citations to this item that we are uncertain about.

    We have no bibliographic references for this item. You can help adding them by using this form .

    If you know of missing items citing this one, you can help us creating those links by adding the relevant references in the same way as above, for each refering item. If you are a registered author of this item, you may also want to check the "citations" tab in your RePEc Author Service profile, as there may be some citations waiting for confirmation.

    For technical questions regarding this item, or to correct its authors, title, abstract, bibliographic or download information, contact: MDPI Indexing Manager (email available below). General contact details of provider: https://www.mdpi.com .

    Please note that corrections may take a couple of weeks to filter through the various RePEc services.

    IDEAS is a RePEc service. RePEc uses bibliographic data supplied by the respective publishers.