Title
Facilitators, barriers and community perceptions for oral cancer prevention and control – A qualitative study from Madhya Pradesh, India
Authors
Sana Anwar*, Anindo Majumdar, Sanjeev Kumar, Pankaj Goel, Yogesh D. Sabde & Ujjawal Khurana
Affiliation
Department of Community and Family Medicine, All India Institute of Medical Sciences, Bhopal, India; *Corresponding author
Sana Anwar - E-mail: drsanaop@gmail.com
Anindo Majumdar - E-mail: anindo.cfm@aiimsbhopal.edu.in
Sanjeev Kumar - E-mail: sanjeev.cfm@aiimsbhopal.edu.in
Pankaj Goel - E-mail: pankaj.dentalsurgery@aiimsbhopal.edu.in
Yogesh Sabde - E-mail: yogesh.sabde.nireh@gov.in
Ujjawal Khurana - E-mail: ujjawal.patho@aiimsbhopal.edu.in
Article Type
Research Article
Date
Received August 1, 2025; Revised August 31, 2025; Accepted August 31, 2025, Published August 31, 2025
Abstract
Oral cancer has high prevalence, morbidity and mortality, so it is of interest to document the barriers, facilitators and suggestions with respect to oral cancer prevention and control. Hence, total 42 participants were purposively selected from population for four focus group discussions, followed by thematic analysis of data summarized under three themes i.e, barriers, facilitators and suggestions. Key barriers were limited knowledge of oral cancer, personal behaviour, attitude and socio-cultural beliefs, suboptimal human resources, infrastructure, medicines and technology, transport issues. Facilitators were trust of population in ASHA workers and doctors, personal negative experiences and changing mindset of people. Suggestions included strengthening primary healthcare services, enhancing community engagement, using mobile technology for awareness, involving local leaders and empowering women.
Keywords
Oral cancer screening, Madhya Pradesh, qualitative study
Citation
Anwar et al. Bioinformation 21(8): 2688-2696 (2025)
Edited by
P Kangueane
ISSN
0973-2063
Publisher
License
This is an Open Access article which permits unrestricted use, distribution, and reproduction in any medium, provided the original work is properly credited. This is distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution License.
