Assessment Of Knowledge, Attitude And Practice Towards Breast Self-Examination Among Female Healthcare Workers In Nelamangala Taluk

Abstract

BACKGROUND Breast cancer is the most common cancer in women worldwide. It accounts for 27 of all cancer cases among women in India.In developing countries the majority of cases arediagnosed in the later stages which are difficult to treat. Breast self-examination is one of the most important methods in the early detection of Breast cancer.OBJECTIVE To assess the knowledge attitude and practice regarding breast self-examination among female healthcare workers of Nelamangala Taluk.METHODS A cross sectional study was carried out between August to November 2016among 123 healthcare workers from Nelemangala Taluk to assess their level of knowledge attitude and practice of BSE. A multi-stage random sampling technique was used and each respondent was given a pre-tested semi-structured self-administered questionnaire.RESULTS All the healthcare workers interviewed had heard about BSE 9577.25of them knew that BSE helps in early detection of breast cancer but only 66 53.65of them knew how to do BSE and only 2822.8 of them were performing BSE regularly. Seventy eight 63.5healthcare workers were not practicing BSE as a majority40 32.52 of them did not know how to do the BSE.CONCLUSION The study showed that knowledge and practice of BSE among healthcare workers was inadequate. There is a need for awareness programs to educate healthcare workers about BSE as it helps in the early detection of breast cancer.nbsp