MATERIALS &METHODS:
All patients at check-in for their otolaryngology clinic appointment were given a survey with attached informational sheet describing the study. Clinic staff were instructed to advise patients that we were conducting a survey to assess head and neck cancer awareness and that patient participation was voluntary. Completed surveys were collected by clinic staff prior to check-out. Survey answers and educational information were displayed at the check-out desk to prevent them being seen prior to completing the survey. Surveys were later numbered for record keeping in a randomized blocking schedule.
Patients were included if they were able to read and write in the English language and were willing to participate in the survey.Albany County is predominantly English-speaking (86%) and this is reflected in our clinic population.8Patients were excluded if they did not answer whether they had a history of head and neck cancer at the bottom of the survey page or if they made annotations on the survey that indicated they were answering the questions as their own personal social history or did not understand the survey. Goal patient accrual was 500 patients with at least 50 patients in the head and neck cancer group based on power calculations.
The survey asked patients to identify which of 19 different factors had been scientifically proven to contribute to head and neck cancer as shown in Figure 1. Acid reflux was later omitted from analysis due to inconsistent data in the literature. Patients were instructed that not all factors listed were contributors to head and neck cancer. Patients were additionally asked if this was their first time completing the survey, if they had been previously diagnosed with head and neck cancer, and their reason for otolaryngology appointment.
All surveys that met inclusion/exclusion criteria were entered into Excel for data analysis. Demographic data including prior diagnosis of head and neck cancer and reason for visit (primary complaint) were tabulated. Percentage of patients correctly identifying each item as a contributor or non-contributor to head and neck cancer was calculated and compared between the cancer patients and non-cancer patients using chi-square analysis. A standard p value of less than 0.05 was used to determine significance. The data that support the findings of this study are available from the corresponding author upon reasonable request.