Occupational cancer risk perception in Iranian workers

This cross-sectional study examined the occupational cancer risk perception among 269 Iranian industrial workers according to their knowledge, job titles hazard, and demographical properties. The structured questionnaire was used to measure participants' knowledge and perception toward occupational cancers (reliability of the perception questions = .72). There was significant difference in both knowledge and perception about occupational cancers in different age and educational groups. It was significant relation between knowledge and perception (p = .001). True answer to some questions was less than 20%. An optimistic bias was found in participants' perception. These findings prove that cancer risk perception in industrial workforces is affected by several factors. Further efforts should be placed in the training of workers to enhance their knowledge and subsequently their perception toward occupational cancers.