Interest in screening examinations among cancer patients

Aim. To determine the influence of socio-demographic variables on attendance rate at screening examinations in cancer patients. Material and methods. The research group comprised of 100 cancer patients. The method applied in the research was a diagnostic survey. The research instrument was the authors‘ own questionnaire specially compiled to measure cancer patients‘ interest in screening examinations. The research material was analysed with the statistical packet STATISTICA 12 and Microsoft Office Excel software. Significance level was assumed at p<0.05 to determine statistically significant differences and dependencies. A Chi2 test was used in the research. Results. The surveyed patients mostly did not participate in screening examinations aimed at diagnosing cancer (66%). Their Age (p=0.05), gender (p=0.003) and place of residence (p=0.04) determined their participation rate in screening tests. The patients‘ marital status (p=0.47), education (p=0.85) and economic status (p=0.13) did not affect their willingness to attend screening examinations. Conclusions. The process of cancer incidence and death rate limitation requires greater participation of the population in prevention programmes.