Introduction: Cancer immunotherapy is a complicated field that develops rapidly; in the past decades, immunotherapy
has become the standard treatment for several cancer types. The aim of the current study was to estimate the
awareness and understanding of cancer immunotherapy and associated immunological concepts among healthcare
professionals (HCPs) in eastern Saudi Arabia in order to assess educational needs.
Methods: A cross-sectional questionnaire was conducted among multidisciplinary HCPs in healthcare institutions in
eastern Saudi Arabia from April 2019 to June 2019. The survey was designed to assess the awareness and understanding
of HCPs’ basic scientific knowledge of cancer immunotherapy. The data were analyzed using the Statistical Package for
the Social Sciences (SPSS). Reliability was tested through Cronbach’s alpha, and a v2 or Fisher’s exact test was used to
determine the distribution of categorical variables between groups.
Results: The study included 360 HCPs: 43.6% physicians, 21.9% nurses, 20.8% medical laboratory scientists, and
13.6% pharmacists. Only 20.6% of the HCPs considered immunotherapy the best-known cancer therapy.
The overall level of awareness of cancer immunotherapy was low (55.8%), and only 6.4% of the participants
had a high knowledge rate. The majority of the respondents indicated the importance of studying the science
of immunotherapy. Cronbach’s alphas for the HCPs’ perceptions, self-evaluation rate, and reflection scales were
0.74, 0.90, and 0.66, respectively. Simple linear regression showed a significant relationship between reflection and
self-evaluation.
Conclusions : A reliable and consistent study revealed a low level of awareness and understanding of immunotherapy
among multidisciplinary HCPs.
رباب سالم حمد | Rabab Salem Hamad | 10243