Epidemiological and educational factors associated with the level of knowledge about gastric cancer prevention among medical interns from Lima, Peru

Introduction: Gastric cancer is one of the most lethal cancers; therefore, a high level of knowledge about its prevention is essential in the training of future physicians. Objective: To determine the epidemiological and educational factors associated with the level of knowledge of gastric cancer...

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Main Authors: Juan Jair Alva-Peña, Lucy Elena Correa-López, Jhony Alberto De la Cruz-Vargas
Format: Article
Language:English
Published: Universidad Nacional de Colombia 2022-10-01
Series:Revista de la Facultad de Medicina
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Online Access:https://revistas.unal.edu.co/index.php/revfacmed/article/view/93616
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author Juan Jair Alva-Peña
Lucy Elena Correa-López
Jhony Alberto De la Cruz-Vargas
author_facet Juan Jair Alva-Peña
Lucy Elena Correa-López
Jhony Alberto De la Cruz-Vargas
author_sort Juan Jair Alva-Peña
collection DOAJ
description Introduction: Gastric cancer is one of the most lethal cancers; therefore, a high level of knowledge about its prevention is essential in the training of future physicians. Objective: To determine the epidemiological and educational factors associated with the level of knowledge of gastric cancer prevention among medical interns from a private university in Lima, Peru. Materials and methods: Analytical cross-sectional study conducted in 319 medical interns enrolled in 2020 and 2021 at the Faculty of Human Medicine of the Universidad Ricardo Palma. Participants’ information was collected using surveys. In addition, their socioeconomic status and level of knowledge were measured using the Graffar classification and the knowledge test on gastric cancer prevention, previously validated in a health care center from Lima (Cronbach's Alpha: 0.84), respectively. A bivariate and a multivariate analysis were performed using a Poisson regression model, calculating prevalence ratios (PR) with a 95% confidence interval (CI) and a significance level of p<0.05. Results: The level of knowledge was high in 53.92% of medical interns. In the multivariate analysis, a significant association was found between having a high level of knowledge about gastric cancer prevention and the following variables: planning to enroll in a surgical specialty (aPR: 1.43, 95%CI: 1.13-1.81; p=0.003) and having a socioeconomic status at levels I-II (aPR: 1.58, 95%CI: 1.26-1.99; p=0.000). On the contrary, variables such as sex, age, having an immediate relative with cancer, having an immediate relative who is a physician, and attendance to cancer conferences were not significantly associated. Conclusion: Planning to enroll in a surgical specialty and having a I-II socioeconomic status were the only variables associated with having a high level of knowledge about gastric cancer prevention. Therefore, the Faculty of Human Medicine should develop strategies aimed at improving the level of knowledge of medical interns about this topic.
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spelling doaj-art-41ff0d9a8c3e4e8ab843c4e6721f2ccf2025-08-20T03:10:46ZengUniversidad Nacional de ColombiaRevista de la Facultad de Medicina0120-00112357-38482022-10-0170410.15446/revfacmed.v70n4.93616Epidemiological and educational factors associated with the level of knowledge about gastric cancer prevention among medical interns from Lima, PeruJuan Jair Alva-Peña0https://orcid.org/0000-0002-7101-2768Lucy Elena Correa-López1https://orcid.org/0000-0001-7892-4391Jhony Alberto De la Cruz-Vargas2https://orcid.org/0000-0002-5592-0504Universidad Ricardo Palma - Faculty of Human Medicine - Lima - Peru.Universidad Ricardo Palma - Faculty of Human Medicine - Lima - Peru. | Universidad Ricardo Palma - Institute for Research in Biomedical Sciences - Lima - Peru.Universidad Ricardo Palma - Faculty of Human Medicine - Lima - Peru. | Universidad Ricardo Palma - Institute for Research in Biomedical Sciences - Lima - Peru. Introduction: Gastric cancer is one of the most lethal cancers; therefore, a high level of knowledge about its prevention is essential in the training of future physicians. Objective: To determine the epidemiological and educational factors associated with the level of knowledge of gastric cancer prevention among medical interns from a private university in Lima, Peru. Materials and methods: Analytical cross-sectional study conducted in 319 medical interns enrolled in 2020 and 2021 at the Faculty of Human Medicine of the Universidad Ricardo Palma. Participants’ information was collected using surveys. In addition, their socioeconomic status and level of knowledge were measured using the Graffar classification and the knowledge test on gastric cancer prevention, previously validated in a health care center from Lima (Cronbach's Alpha: 0.84), respectively. A bivariate and a multivariate analysis were performed using a Poisson regression model, calculating prevalence ratios (PR) with a 95% confidence interval (CI) and a significance level of p<0.05. Results: The level of knowledge was high in 53.92% of medical interns. In the multivariate analysis, a significant association was found between having a high level of knowledge about gastric cancer prevention and the following variables: planning to enroll in a surgical specialty (aPR: 1.43, 95%CI: 1.13-1.81; p=0.003) and having a socioeconomic status at levels I-II (aPR: 1.58, 95%CI: 1.26-1.99; p=0.000). On the contrary, variables such as sex, age, having an immediate relative with cancer, having an immediate relative who is a physician, and attendance to cancer conferences were not significantly associated. Conclusion: Planning to enroll in a surgical specialty and having a I-II socioeconomic status were the only variables associated with having a high level of knowledge about gastric cancer prevention. Therefore, the Faculty of Human Medicine should develop strategies aimed at improving the level of knowledge of medical interns about this topic. https://revistas.unal.edu.co/index.php/revfacmed/article/view/93616Gastric CancerPreventionEducationKnowledge
spellingShingle Juan Jair Alva-Peña
Lucy Elena Correa-López
Jhony Alberto De la Cruz-Vargas
Epidemiological and educational factors associated with the level of knowledge about gastric cancer prevention among medical interns from Lima, Peru
Revista de la Facultad de Medicina
Gastric Cancer
Prevention
Education
Knowledge
title Epidemiological and educational factors associated with the level of knowledge about gastric cancer prevention among medical interns from Lima, Peru
title_full Epidemiological and educational factors associated with the level of knowledge about gastric cancer prevention among medical interns from Lima, Peru
title_fullStr Epidemiological and educational factors associated with the level of knowledge about gastric cancer prevention among medical interns from Lima, Peru
title_full_unstemmed Epidemiological and educational factors associated with the level of knowledge about gastric cancer prevention among medical interns from Lima, Peru
title_short Epidemiological and educational factors associated with the level of knowledge about gastric cancer prevention among medical interns from Lima, Peru
title_sort epidemiological and educational factors associated with the level of knowledge about gastric cancer prevention among medical interns from lima peru
topic Gastric Cancer
Prevention
Education
Knowledge
url https://revistas.unal.edu.co/index.php/revfacmed/article/view/93616
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