Breast self-examination among female clients in a tertiary hospital in Eastern Uganda

Abstract

BackgroundBreast self-examination is a widely accepted, inexpensive and non-complex screening method for breast cancer because it does not entail complex technical training and therefore a more practical approach in a resource limited setting. This study aimed to assess the knowledge and practice of breast self-examination among female clients at Mbale Regional Referral hospital. MethodsA cross sectional study employing qualitative and quantitative methods was carried out among 386 women selected by simple random sampling. Data was analyzed using SPSS v 16.0 and presented in tables. Univariate and bivariate analysis was done and a P-value < 0.05 was considered statistically significant while the results with a P-value ≤ 0.2 were considered for multivariate analysis. ResultsBoth the knowledge and practice of breast self-examination among the participants in this study were low. Less than 50% of the participants had ever heard about breast self-examination. Only 24% of those who had ever heard about breast self-examination correctly reported that it should be done monthly. Both knowledge and practice of breast self-examination were associated with living in the urban setting, high level of education, occupation and religion. ConclusionThere was limited knowledge about breast self-examination among women in Mbale Regional Referral Hospital and this corresponds with the low practice of the same. Only a few participants reported practicing breast self-examination monthly.