Abstract
BACKGROUND: Awareness of cancer and its symptoms may have declined in 2020 following the onset of the COVID-19 pandemic. We examined the effect of the COVID-19 pandemic and awareness of the 'Find Cancer Early' mass media campaign on the knowledge of common cancer symptoms in regional Western Australian (WA) residents aged 40 years and over. METHODS: Campaign materials from 'Find Cancer Early' included the 'Rural Doctors' video advertisement and the 'Yellow Checklist'. Multivariable log-binomial regression analyses were undertaken using data from the annual post-campaign evaluations surveys between 2018 and 2020, which included information on campaign awareness, cancer symptom knowledge, and sociodemographic factors. RESULTS: The number of cancer symptoms recalled (mean (M): 1.32 vs 1.72; P < .001) and the proportion of participants with better cancer symptom knowledge (16.9% vs 25.7%; P < .001) were lower in 2020 than the pre-pandemic time-period. Campaign awareness (prevalence ratio (PR) = 1.99; P < .001) and females (PR = 1.28; P = .002) were associated with better cancer symptom knowledge, while the pandemic time-period (PR = 0.59; P < .001), older age (PR = 0.57; P < .001), and a previous cancer diagnosis (PR = 0.76; P = .007) were associated with poorer knowledge. CONCLUSIONS: Despite the ongoing pandemic, campaign awareness was associated with better knowledge of common cancer symptoms in regional WA. Regional subpopulations, including males and older adults, should be targeted for future campaigns.