Children’s Knowledge of Cancer Prevention and Perceptions of Cancer Patients: Comparison Before and After Cancer Education with the Presence of Visiting Lecturer -Guided Class

The purpose of this study was to investigate the effect of the presence of visiting lecturer-guided class on children’s knowledge of cancer prevention and perceptions of cancer patients, conducting surveys before and after the cancer education classes at local elementary schools that are pioneering cancer education. We implemented self-administered questionnaire surveys with 571 sixth-grade children at nine elementary schools receiving cancer education in the Tokyo metropolitan area from September 2013 to February 2014. The surveys were conducted twice in each classroom: 1 week before the cancer education class and 1 week after. The questionnaire items included participants’ gender, cancer prevention information, and perceptions of cancer patients with the following description: “looks pitiful,” “always depressed,” “bedridden and hospitalized,” “excessive smoking and drinking,” “looks thin and pale,” “no visible change despite cancer,” and “always bright and cheerful.” Children who had not attended the cancer education day, or had not completed both the pre- and post-test, were excluded from the analysis. Regardless of whether there visiting lecturer-guided class was provided, the possibility of improving children’s knowledge of cancer prevention was demonstrated. On the other hand, in the post-class surveys, compared to the group with visiting lecturer-guided class, the group without it had a significantly lower percentage of persons selecting “Looks pitiful” (76.2%/63.5%, p = 0.002) and significantly higher percentages for “Too much smoking and drinking,” and “Looks thin and pale” (50.2%/63.5%, p = 0.002; 18.8%/31.1%, p = 0.001). Therefore, study is needed into cancer education coordinated with relevant institutions in order to more effectively utilize visiting lecturers and the like.