Abstract
Breast cancer has been diagnosed in majority of women worldwide over the years. It is a universal disease affecting people regardless of race, socio-economic status or culture. Delayed screening, examination and diagnosis can affect the impact of treatment and diagnosis. The objective of the study was to determine the influence of knowledge, attitudes and practices on adoption of early screening of breast cancer among women. The study employed cross-sectional and descriptive research design. A sample size of 384 households was used to obtain data from the households. The study targeted women aged 18-65 years. Sampling technique comprised of multistage sampling for the household, Quota sampling for the Focus Group Discussions and purposive sampling for the Key Informants. Primary data was gathered by use of questionnaires, Key Informant Interview guides, observation and Focus Group Discussions while secondary data was acquired through publications, journals, and internet access. All quantitative data were analysed using Microsoft excel, and Statistical package for Social Scientist (SPSS) version 20.0. The results from a Pearson chi square analysis with P>0.05 showed that knowledge on various risks to breast cancer significantly influenced the need for early adoption of screening; attitudes like curability of BCA, willingness to undertake BCA and if early detection of BCA is helpful were statistically insignificant in influencing BCA screening uptake with P>0.05, While findings indicate that there was no statistical significance between various practices and adoption of early detection of BCA in Homa Bay County. This indicated that most of the decisions to undertake early screening of breast cancer among women was less informed by their attitudes; while Practices among women indicated no statistical significance to adoption of early detection of BCA at a p>0.05. There is need for concerted public health awareness campaign on breast cancer early detection advantages in the community and by the Community Health Volunteers to encourage majority into the practice.
Highlights
Breast cancer is type of cancer which is proliferation of malignant cells that arises in the breast tissues and diseases arises entirely in female and men respectively
It is expected that having adequate knowledge and positive attitude influences positive decision by women to go for screening programs of breast cancer
From the FGDs, there is a lot of awareness creation through media and Community health Volunteers but many people haven’t gone for cancer screening due to other factors such as the fear of being diagnosed with breast cancer and due to poverty that is extreme among the residents incapacitating them to reach the hospitals
Summary
Breast cancer is type of cancer which is proliferation of malignant cells that arises in the breast tissues and diseases arises entirely in female and men respectively. Breast cancer is one of the cancers that majority of the women have been diagnosed with globally over decades (24.2%, i.e. about one in four of all new cancer cases diagnosed in women worldwide are breast cancer), being the most common in 154 of the 185 countries included in GLOBOCAN survey. It is a universal disease affecting people regardless of race, socio-economic status or culture and can instill fears of pain, stress, shock, suffering, increase dependency syndrome, deformation and loss of life. The fear of this disease delays screening, examination and International Journal of Medical Science and Clinical Invention, vol 08, Issue 11, November 2021
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