hotocopiers and printers release several toxic compounds when operating, posing a significant public-health issue since millions of workers worldwide might be affected.

Aim

To evaluate the effectiveness of educational program on knowledge and practices regarding occupational safety measures.

Subjects and Method

Quasi-experimental with one group pretest, posttest design was conducted, among 163 workers at central printing press, and all photocopy and printing offices at Assiut University Faculties. Data collected by face-to-face interviewing the photocopy and printing workers using a structured questionnaire. It included two tools. Tool I: Part One: personal and occupational data. Part two: Assessment of studied workers' knowledge about occupational hazards and subsequent health problems. Tool II: Hand washing & back stretching exercise observational checklist.

Results

The study exposed that 89.6% of studied workers had poor knowledge scores about occupational hazards and safety measures in the pre-test, which improved to 44.2% of workers who had good knowledge scores in the post-test and 58.3% of them had fair knowledge scores in the follow-up test. Additionally, 94.5% of studied workers had unsatisfactory practice scores in the pre-test, which improved to 62.6% having satisfactory practice scores in the post-test and 49.7% having satisfactory practices scores in the follow-up test with a statistically significant p < 0.001.

Conclusion

Implementation of educational program leading to an improvement of workers' knowledge and practices regarding occupational safety measures.

Recommendation

Continuing educational

Abstract: Oral cavity and oropharyngeal cancer represent the most prevalent cancers in the head and neck region, constituting approximately 25–30% of all malignancies in the oral cavity. This study aims to assess the impact of a health education program and oral self-examination on oral cavity and oropharyngeal cancer among student smokers at Assiut University in Egypt. A quasi-experimental research design was employed, involving 925 randomly selected participants from practical and theoretical faculties. Participants received the health education program and data were collected using self-administered knowledge questionnaires and observational checklists before, immediately after, and two months post-intervention. The study encompassed demographic information, students' knowledge about smoking and oral cancers, and an observational checklist for oral self-examination. Results indicated that 55.9% of participants were male, with 19.2% being smokers, and 82% had poor knowledge regarding smoking and oral cancers. The findings suggest that the health education program and oral self-examination significantly improved students' knowledge and practices at both post-test and follow-up assessments.                                                                                                                

Background: Oral cavity and oropharyngeal cancer are growing public health concerns worldwide. It is a debilitating disease that could severely cause traumatic impacts on a patient’s emotional, functional, and financial aspects, simultaneously reducing their quality of life. Aim of the study: Assess prevalence of smoking and students' knowledge about oral cavity, and oropharyngeal cancer at Assiut University. Methodology: A descriptive research design was used in this study. Sample: Multistage random samples were used in this study the current study included 925 students at Assiut University. Two tools were used in the study: tool I self-administered questionnaire concerning the personal characteristics of the student, and tool II part one prevalence of smoking, part two knowledge about the effect of smoking on the oral cavity, and oropharyngeal cancer. Results: The study revealed that the prevalence of smoking among the students was 19.2% and 4.9% of students had a good knowledge score about oral cavity, and oropharyngeal cancer, while 74.9% of students had a poor knowledge score, Conclusion: The students show poor knowledge about the effect of smoking on the oral cavity, and oropharyngeal cancer. Recommendation: An educational program should be developed for university students about smoking, oral cavity, and oropharyngeal cancer.