Abstract
PURPOSE Educating women on how to examine their breasts can raise breast cancer awareness and early detection rates, especially in low- and middle-income countries. In this study, the influence of a teaching session on breast self-examination (BSE) during pregnancy was evaluated. METHODS A quasi-experimental study design was used. A total of 1,248 pregnant women whose pregnancies had a gestational age of 26 weeks or less were recruited from three antenatal clinics representing three tiers of the health care system in Nigeria. They were interviewed using a structured questionnaire, including BSE practice, and taught how to perform BSE using the MammaCare technique at recruitment. At 6 months postpartum, 729 participants were available for phone interview on BSE practice. Adherence to BSE was measured as a binary outcome comparing BSE performances at recruitment with follow-up. Conditional logistic regression analysis was used to determine the differences in BSE practices pre- and postintervention. Multiple logistic regression was used to identify predictors for adherence to BSE training at α = 0.05. RESULTS Participants’ mean age was 30.4 ± 4.9 years, 401 (55.0%) attended a secondary health facility for antenatal care, and 78 (10.7%) had breast disorders at recruitment. Two hundred fifty-three (34.7%) said they practiced BSE before recruitment, and 380 (52.1%) did so at follow-up (odds ratio, 1.91; CI, 1.51 to 2.42). Women less likely to adhere were those with breast disorders detected at recruitment (adjusted odds ratio [aOR], 0.55; CI, 0.32 to 0.95) and women recruited from primary and secondary health facilities compared with those from a tertiary health facility (aOR, 0.41; CI, 0.17 to 0.98; aOR, 0.18; CI, 0.11 to 0.29, respectively). CONCLUSION Educational interventions can significantly improve screening practices, even if only one session, and should serve as an integral control for breast cancer.
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