AWARENESS OF CANCER SCREENING AMONG GEORGIAN PRIMARY CARE PHYSICIANS

Despite the development of new diagnostic and treatment tools, cancer remains one of the leading public health challenges of developed and developing countries. According to the National Center for Disease control and Public Health (NCDC), incidence of all cancer cases in 2018 was 258.6 per 100.000 in Georgia. However, the national cancer screening program (available since 2006) has a low participation rate. In 2018, only 11.2% of eligible women were screened for cervical cancer and 8.6% had a mammogram. The coverage is even lower for colorectal cancer screening (1.5%). In 2019, NCDC launched an awareness campaign for cancer screening aiming to inform citizens about the importance of cancer screening and to provide updated information to primary care physicians to promote the cancer screening among their patients. Primary care workers (PCW) from three regions of Georgia were surveyed to assess their awareness regarding cancer and the cancer screening program before and after the educational courses. Data were collected using a self-administered questionnaire with 27 questions. The statistical software package, SPSS version 23, was used for data processing and analyses. A total of 129 primary care workers were enrolled, of whom 55.1% did not know that breast cancer screening is offered every two years by the national screening program. Only 61.1% correctly identified the eligible age groups for colorectal cancer screening. Almost half of PCWs (46.0%) did not know that low-risk HPV strains are associated with genital warts. Low engagement of PHC workers in cancer screening may explain the low participation rate in the state cancer screening program. Even though baseline knowledge was significantly improved after training courses, follow-up knowledge and practice surveys are needed to understand the long-term impact of training on the rate of referrals for cancer screening by PHC providers.