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Background: The three most commonly occurring cancers in India are those of the breast, uterine cervix, and lip or oral cavity, together accounting for approximately 34% of all cancers. All the three cancers are amenable to prevention, early detection, and treatment through which the morbidity and mortality due to these cancers can be reduced. This pilot study was conducted to assess the operational feasibility of the national cancer screening guidelines. Method: This study was conducted in the Dibrugarh district of Assam in seven tea garden hospitals which serve as the primary health centers for the tea estate population in the Northeast region of India. The study intervention was a three-day training package designed to train primary care physicians in population-based screening for oral, breast, and cervical cancers. Knowledge evaluation and skill assessment were performed with a validated questionnaire and checklist, respectively. Results: Pre and posttraining knowledge assessment showed significant gain in the knowledge levels of the participants in all topics. The greatest knowledge increase was seen in breast cancer (96.3%), followed by cervical cancer (57.5%), oral cancer (35.5%) and general cancer-related information (16.7%). The skill assessment done for each participant individually at the end of the training indicated a need for retraining all participants in breast cancer screening. Conclusion: The learnings from this study will be of great help in scaling up the capacity building programme for cancer screening when the nation-wide population-based cancer screening programme will be rolled out in the country. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Introduction: Nurses are the foundation of the Indian health system. They play a crucial role in primary care and implementation of community-centered government health initiatives such as cancer screening. The purpose of this manuscript is to share the experience of this educational intervention study and emphasize the need for drastic medical education reforms to include curricula to strengthen knowledge about cancer screening among nursing students. Methods: A one-day workshop on "Cervical and breast cancer screening" was conducted for nursing students pursuing BSc Nursing (Group 1) and General Nursing and Midwifery (GNM) (Group 2) in India. A structured, self-administered questionnaire was administered among consented participants before and after the workshop to assess their knowledge and awareness on the subject at the baseline and the improvement they gained after the workshop. Results: Ninety-one students attempted both pre and post-surveys, of which 56 were from Group 1 and 35 from Group 2. Students demonstrated statistically significant improvements in knowledge on cervical and breast cancer screening after participating in the workshop. Conclusion: Undergraduate nursing education curricula must undergo medical education reform to include education and training for nurses in cancer screening and further motivate their increased participation in preventive cancer screening programs. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]