Public awareness of central nervous system tumors in the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia

Objectives:To investigate individuals’ knowledge about central nervous system tumors (CNST) signs and symptoms and risk factors, as well as their readiness to seek medical advice. The signs and symptoms associated with CNSTs are often vague, and failure to recognize them could lead to delays in seeking help and possibly fatal results.Methods:This was a cross-sectional survey that utilized 2 delivery methods. A total of 1,500 personally delivered and 1,500 online self-administered questionnaires were completed in parallel between June 2015 and June 2016 for the occupants of the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia.Results:Significant differences were observed for the sociodemographic characteristics of participants recruited via the 2 methods. The most recognized symptom was “Headaches” (45.2%), and the most recognized risk factor was “Radioactive location/occupation” (84.1%). Overall knowledge scores were low, significantly predicted by employment and cancer contact (p<0.05), while the scores significantly higher for participants who were willing to see their doctors within a week (p<0.005). The most recognized barrier to seeking help was “Worry about what the doctor might find” (74.0%).Conclusion:The level of awareness of CNSTs was low. Using a questionnaire delivered in 2 different ways enabled the recruitment of sample pools with different sociodemographic characteristics.

For many health-related issues, awareness is considered an important factor associated with behavior.1 Several studies have linked high knowledge to the ability to address modifiable associated causes, for instance, improving diet and increasing exercise to prevent cancer, as well as taking appropriate actions in response to detecting associated symptoms.2 Assessing the level of public awareness of health-related issues is important for identifying deficient areas and increasing awareness in areas where needed.3 The occurrence of a central nervous system tumor (CNST) in any individual, with its associated consequences, is a devastating event.4 In 2012, the World Health Organization (WHO) Global Cancer report (GLOBOCAN) stated that more than 250,000 individuals worldwide were diagnosed with a CNST, and approximately 190,000 died, ranking CNSTs in the top 10 mortalities caused by cancer.5,6,7 More than 120 CNST entities have been classified by the World Health Organization (WHO) based on their clinicopathological characteristics and histological patterns.8 The signs and symptoms for CNSTs depend on the tumor location, and they are not exclusively indicative of the presence of these tumors.3,9,10 Causes associated with the development of CNSTs vary, and many are still under investigation.11-20 Many studies that assess health public awareness rely on random sampling through telephone directories, a system that is not necessarily available in many developing countries. Questionnaires provided online have frequently been used, including in marketing research and psychological studies. Due to their attractive ability to access larger cohorts and improve validation checks, and thus data quality, these Web-based questionnaires represent an important tool for many epidemiological studies on public health.21,22 Awareness of the symptoms and risk factors for CNSTs is especially critical, since the disease signs tend to be vague and easily overlooked, resulting in a delayed response to take appropriate action. Unfortunately, there is a lack of CNST awareness studies that assess the level of public understanding in many regions of the world. In this study, we aimed to investigate the knowledge concerning CNST signs and symptoms and risk factors, as well as readiness to seek medical advice, among citizens of the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia (KSA) using 2 questionnaire delivery methods.