Assessing Breast Cancer Knowledge Among Iranian Physicians

Abstract

Background: Breast cancer (BC) is one of the most important public health issues; so, knowledge about signs, symptoms, and screening programs has impressive role in BC prevention. Objectives: The objective of this study was measuring general physician’s knowledge regarding BC screening programs. Methods: This cross sectional study was performed among 200 general physicians (GP) of urban and rural areas from Jun to September, 2017 in Hamadan, Iran, using a self-administered semi-structured questionnaire. The data were analyzed by SPSS. Significance level was set at P < 0.05. Results: The mean score of total knowledge on breast cancer screening, risk factors, signs, and symptoms for 23 questions was 15.07 ± 2.4 (max: 20; min: 9), which meant that correct answers were given to more than half of them. In symptom knowledge area, 45.3 of physicians had correct answer to 4 questions, whereas about risk factor, 61.4 recorded correct answer to 8 questions. There was a significant reverse correlation between knowledge about screening programs and age of participants (r =-0.3; P < 0.001), and their years of work experience (r =-0.26; P < 0.001). Conclusions: In the current study, family physician knowledge on breast cancer signs, symptom, and screening programs was insufficient. It is recommended that there should be a well-designed health education program to compensate physicians’ knowledge deficits, especially in older ages in order to raise awareness toward cancer, with emphasis on the role of prevention and screening. Importance of early diagnosis in breast cancer and its high rate in our country are adequate reasons for considering this issue on top of our priorities. © 2019, Author(s).