Knowledge of breast cancer, willingness and barriers to mammography screening among rural women in Enugu State, Nigeria.

Abstract

Breast cancer is a serious public health threat. Mammography is the most reliable screening method that detects breast cancer early, enabling early onset of treatment which improves the prognosis of the disease. To determine women's knowledge of breast cancer, as well as barriers and willingness of women to participate in mammography screening. Using the cross-sectional survey design, we sampled and studied two rural communities of Enugu State, Nigeria. Two researcher-made questionnaires were used for the study. Frequencies, percentages, chi-square and regression analysis were employed in data analysis. Only 11.4 percent of study participants had good knowledge of breast cancer. There were significant differences in knowledge of breast cancer based on level of education (χ2 = 15.670; p =.001), monthly income (χ2 =6.954; p = .021) and ever screened (χ2 =5.242; p =.015). Lack of money (48.0%) and lack of knowledge (30.4%) were the most reported barriers to breast cancer screening. Women that had ever screened were 92.3% less likely willing to be screened than those never screened (aOR: .077, 95%CI .011-.522, p=.009). Health Education should be combined with improving women's economic status and subsidizing the cost of screening to increase breast cancer screening practice.