ESTRO 2024 - Abstract Book

S2677

Interdisciplinary - Education in radiation therapy

ESTRO 2024

Cramer L. (2021). Alternative strategies for closing the award gap between white and minority ethnic students. e Life, 10, e58971. https://doi.org/10.7554/eLife.58971

Lawal, O., Ramlaul, A., & Murphy, F. (2021). Problem-based learning in radiography education: A narrative review. Radiography (London, England: 1995), 27(2), 727–732. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.radi.2020.11.001

Nightingale, J., Parkin, J., Nelson, P., Masterson-Ng, S., Brewster, J., Labinjo, T., ... & Harrop, D. (2022). Multiple stakeholder perspectives of factors influencing differential outcomes for ethnic minority students on health and social care placements: a qualitative exploration. BMC Medical Education, 22(1), 1-13.

Universities UK. 2022. Closing ethnicity degree awarding gaps: three years on. #closing the gap.

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Digital Poster

Awareness of risk factors of cancer amongst a UK student population.

Rebecca Spence 1 , Dr Andrew Williams 2

1 NHS, Radiotherapy, London, United Kingdom. 2 AECC, School of Radiology, Bournemouth, United Kingdom

Purpose/Objective:

The question this study posed was "If there is a degree of difference in knowledge, what long-term effect will this have on young adults?". To help identify fundamental areas that can be addressed to support cancer prevention, the aim of this study was to explore the knowledge of risk factors among UK university students as a sector of the young adult population. The main objectives of this study included using the results to determine if there was significant difference in knowledge of risk factors between students studying healthcare-related courses and students studying non-healthcare-related courses.

Material/Methods:

To achieve this aim, a cross-sectional questionnaire design was employed. The sample consisted of 81 university students from two universities in Bournemouth, UK, selected through snowball sampling. A sample of female (N=59), male (N=21) and non-binary (N=1) university students with the mean age of (22) completed an online questionnaire identifying their knowledge of the different risk factors across a range of different cancers. The questionnaire was distributed online and consisted of closed-ended questions to assess participants knowledge of various risk factors of cancer. The questionnaire consisted of three sections. The first section consisted of three questions in which participants were asked questions regarding their age, gender, and university course. The second section included 13 questions on scientifically proven risk factors such as diet, lifestyle, physical activity, and family history. The third section included four questions based on examples of risk factors that can lead to certain forms of cancer. A pilot study was tested amongst 30 students in the radiotherapy cohort to assess feasibility and then modified prior to distribution. To summarise any key demographic variables, descriptive statistics were used, including means, proportions, and confidence intervals. Prevalence ratios were calculated to evaluate differences between the two courses and the participants responses. To evaluate the differences, the Chi-square test was used, with a P value of 0.005 considered statistically significant. To analyse differences in continuous variables between the two groups, a one-way ANOVA and the Kruskal-Wallis test were employed as the variables were non-parametric. The Mann-Whitney U test was also used to find the difference in continuous