Holistic Approach for the Early Detection of Oral Cancer: A Comprehensive Training Module

Abstract

Objectives: Oral cancer is significantly high in India, and screening is an effective approach to downstage the disease. Educating Community Health Workers (CHWs) on early oral cancer detection is an effective step toward reducing the burden and serves as a first step toward facilitating the transfer of knowledge. Therefore, the purpose of this hands-on education was to equip CHWs with insight on the advanced diagnostics, preventive techniques, and innovations for the early detection of oral cancer.

Materials and methods: A total of 178 participants were trained in two groups: Group 1 received training for screening and primary prevention, while group 2 received training on updates in recent diagnostic adjuncts and innovations, AI-enabled point-of-care diagnostics, and essential patient care in management of Oral Potentially Malignant Disorders (OPMDs). Pre- and post-assessment questionnaires were used to evaluate the participants.

Results: The knowledge assessment scores between the pre- and post-tests showed a statistically significant difference (p < 0.001), with rise in mean score of 3.99 from baseline. Six months following training, knowledge retention revealed a statistically significant difference (p < 0.001) in the participants' ability to recall the information.

Conclusion: A well-structured training module can create awareness, impart knowledge and upskill the CHWs for early detection of oral cancer. Retraining of CHWs is required for knowledge retention post-training.

Keywords: Assessment; Community health workers; Detection; Education; Oral cancer; mHealth.