Effectiveness of Educational Intervention on Awareness Regarding Cancer Preventive Food Stuff among Adolescents

Introduction Chronic diseases, including cancer are the major causes of death and disability worldwide. Cancer is the second leading cause of death in Americans after heart disease. Globally, nearly 1 in 6 deaths is due to cancer. According to the report from WHO, 35 % of carcinogenic substances are derived from food and drinks and 30 % are from smoking as the second rank. Thus, awareness regarding cancer prevention can help a lot in controlling the increasing incidence of cancer. And educational intervention is the most effective way to raise awareness. Objective To assess the level of awareness regarding cancer preventive food stuff among adolescents before and after an educational intervention. Methodology Pre experimental one group pre- test post- test design was used among 86 adolescents of Bagmati Modern School. A self administered questionnaire consisting of questions related demographic characteristics and awareness related to cancer preventive food stuff was used before and after intervention. Results The mean pre-test knowledge was 12.1 whereas, the mean post-test knowledge was 19.9 with a difference of 7.8. The paired t-value was 18.33 (p = 0.00) showing the significant increase in the awareness regarding cancer preventive food stuff after the educational intervention. Conclusion Results of this study indicated that one third of the respondents had inadequate awareness at pre-test and all the respondents had adequate awareness after educational intervention. Thus, the survey concluded that general people need plans, programs and health campaign, and adolescents require educational intervention to raise their awareness level in the present context where cancer and other non-communicable diseases are at the peak level of incidence.