Factors associated with breast cancer screening practices among female healthcare professionals in Olabisi Onabanjo University Teaching Hospital, Sagamu, Ogun State, Nigeria

Abstract

Breast cancer is the most frequent malignancy affecting females in Nigeria. It was observed that female healthcare professionals have relatively poor screening practices of breast cancer. This study aims to investigate factors associated with breast cancer screening practices among female healthcare professionals in Olabisi Onabanjo University Teaching Hospital, Ogun State. The study was a cross sectional study design, with the population of interest of female healthcare professionals in the Institution as 345. The sample size was calculated using Yamane formula giving a total of 204. The respondents received the self-administered structured questionnaire and 200 were retrieved with a response rate of 98.5%. The data were analyzed statistically using IBM SPSS version 25 and descriptive methods. The level of significance was set at P<0.05. According to the conclusions of this study, 100% of the respondents were aware of BSE. 92.5% and 89.5% of respondents had a positive attitude and perception of breast cancer screening, respectively. Findings from this study demonstrated that majority of the respondents had adequate knowledge of BSE, however, the level of utilization of screening techniques was low. Most of the female healthcare professionals need additional and frequent trainings, that would cause perennial screening for breast cancer. These should be considered while developing interventions, which will lead to increased use of screening services and, ultimately, a drop in the morbidity and mortality rate of breast cancer. Keywords: Breast cancer screening, female healthcare professionals, knowledge of breast cancer screening practices, clinical examination of the breast, breast ulceration.