Analysis of the attitude patients from rural and patients from urban areas in Bosnia and Herzegovina have towards skin tumors

Abstract

A prospective study, which lasted from September 2014 to October 2016, covered the subjects who were examined for various benign tumor changes on the skin. The examinees were divided into 2 groups. The first group A (92 examinees) was composed of the examinees who inhabited a rural area. The second group B (98 examinees) was consisted of examinees who lived in an urban environment. The analyzed examinees gravitate towards rural and urban areas of Banja Luka, Gradiska, Stanari, Prijedor and Teslic in Bosnia and Herzegovina. The aim of this study is to analyze the attitude of examinees from rural and urban areas towards skin tumors. Parameters that were used for comparison of results are: personal attitude to skin tumors and previous skin examinations. There was no statistically significant difference in terms of prejudices among the respondents: that there is no risk of skin cancer, if a person is not exposed to the sun, and/or if changes in the skin are innate, as well as in the number of examinees who said they were not afraid of a skin tumor. In group A the number of examinees that have no opinion about skin tumors is three times higher, while in group B the number of examinees who said that they had a phobia of skin cancer is three times higher. It turned out that regular self-examination of the skin in group A is performed only by 7 (7.6%) examinees, while in group B it is done by 21 (21.5%) examinees, which proved to be statistically significantly different. Occasionally skin examination by a specialist family doctor (and/or a dermatologist) has been performed by 3 (3.3%) examinees of group A and 10 (10.3%) from group B. 4 (4.1%) examinees from group B and no one from group A perform dermoscopic examination occasionally. It was found that regular dermoscopy inspections or skin examinations by a specialist family doctor and/or dermatologist have not been done by any examinees from both analyzed groups. Attitude toward skin tumors of group A is more leisurely (less responsible), so for that group there is a possibility of higher risk degree for late diagnosis of malignant skin tumors.