Third year medical students’ Rhea Patel and Victoria Hu, from Imperial College London and currently on GP placement at the Queens Crescent Practice, in Camden have been busy educating the local community about the many health risks associated with the usage of paan (otherwise commonly known as betel nut). Paan is known to be one of the causes of mouth cancer and head and neck cancers.
Rhea says “We have recognised that the usage seems to be high in North London, however, many of the local community do not seem to be aware of the prevalent health risks. Having now looked over some national data, it seems this trend in lack of education in regards to the usage of paan is prevalent across England – perhaps particularly in areas with a higher demographic of individuals with a South Asian ethnicity. Therefore, we would like to try and implement a national scheme to raise awareness.â€Â
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The duo has designed a poster to help educate individuals, targeted for use by the general public with baseline medical knowledge. The poster has also been translated into Bengali.
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betel nut poster