Influence of Knowledge and Attitude of Cancer on Cancer Prevention Health Promoting Behavior in General Hospital Nurses

ABSTRACT

PURPOSE: The purpose of this study was to find factors affecting hospital nurses' cancer prevention health promoting behavior METHODS: The subjects were 308 nurses working in general hospitals with over 300 beds. Knowledge of cancer was assessed with 36 question items for six major cancers, and the attitude toward cancer was assessed with 10 items for cancer prevention and early detection. Cancer prevention health promotion behavior was assessed by 21 questions about diet, health life, and exercise. The collected data were analyzed using frequency and percentage, t-tests, one-way ANOVA, Pearson correlation coefficients, and stepwise multiple regression analysis. RESULTS: The score for knowledge of cancer was 25.12±3.33. The average score for attitude towards cancer was 30.41±4.08. The score of cancer prevention health promoting behaviors on cancer was 70.60±10.90. Cancer prevention health promoting behaviors were not correlated with cancer knowledge, and were positively correlated with cancer attitude (r=0.44, p < .001). There was a positive correlation with the cancer prevention attitude (r=0.49, p < .001) among the sub-areas of cancer attitude. CONCLUSION: The nurses' knowledge, attitude, and preventive health promotion behaviors of cancer were important for the health of individuals, patients and the general public, I think it is necessary to search for ways to actively promote cancer prevention health promoting behaviors in various directions and to confirm their effects.