Knowledge and Self-Reported Practices towards Breast Self-Examination among Women of Child-Bearing Age in Luanshya District of Zambia

Abstract

Background: Breast cancer is the most frequently diagnosed malignancy among women in the world. In Zambia, it is the second common cancer among women after cervical cancer. Diagnostic methods for Breast Cancer include Breast Self-Examination, Clinical Breast Examination and Mammography for women above 40 years of age. While Clinical Breast Examination and Mammography are performed by health care providers, Breast Self-Examination is performed by the individual woman. Materials and Methods: This was a cross sectional correlation study. It was conducted in Mikomfwa area of Luanshya district on the Copperbelt Province of Zambia on women of childbearing age from 18 to 45 years. A sample of 92 women was randomly selected and data was collected using an interview-administered questionnaire. Data was analyzed using SPSS version 24 through which descriptive statistics were generated. A chi-square test was used to determine the association between practices of Breast Self-Examination and the level of knowledge and other socio-demographic variables among women who participated in the study. Results: A good number (39.1%) of participants did not have any information about Breast Self-Examination while 60.9% had information prior to the study. At least 59 (60.7%) knew that Breast Cancer can be detected through Breast Self-Examination. Among those, 56 (60.9%) that had information about Breast Self-Examination, the majority 30(53.6%) had adequate knowledge on Breast Self-Examination while 26 (46.4%) expressed inadequate knowledge. Similarly, out of the 56 who had information about Breast Self-Examination only 30 (53.6%) had good practice and 26 (46.4%) had poor practices. However, there was no significant association observed between knowledge of Breast Self-Examination and self-reported practices. Conclusion: The findings of this study revealed that majority of the women had adequate knowledge of Breast Self- Examination but the practice of Breast Self-Examination were low. We recommended intensified self- awareness campaigns, as Breast Self-Examination is important for early diagnosis of breast cancer.