The Relationships of Knowledge, Attitudes about Cancer and Health Behavior for Cancer Prevention in High School Students

Kim, Young Sook

Abstract

PURPOSE
This study was conducted to identify high school students' knowledge and attitude about cancer, and to examine the relation between these variables.
METHODS
The participants were 811 students from 8 high schools in U city. The data were analyzed using Pearson correlation coefficients, ANOVA and Duncan test with SPSS/WIN 12.0.
RESULTS
The score for participants' knowledge about cancer was 18.88 out of a possible 30, and their score for attitude towards cancer was 34.74 points of a possible 50. There were significant differences in knowledge about cancer according to gender, religion, school grades and worries about cancer. The attitude towards cancer showed significant differences according to worries about cancer and family atmosphere. The health behaviors were also statistically affected by factors like whether one smoked or not, health condition and harmony of family life. There was a significant positive correlation between attitude towards cancer and health behavior for cancer prevention. Attitude towards cancer and health behavior for cancer prevention showed a positive correlation with knowledge about cancer.
CONCLUSION
The results of this study indicate that the development of an appropriate attitude towards cancer by high school students should lead to the practice of health behavior to prevent cancer. This development could be enhanced with structured and on-going education about cancer.