Knowledge Of Breast Self-examination Research Articles

Health Education in Preventing Breast Cancer among Rural Women of Pakistan: A Quasi-Experimental Study

Background: Breast Carcinoma (BC) is the most prevalent cancer among females of Pakistan. Pakistan is a low-middle-income country and breast self-examination (BSE) is an inexpensive and feasible method for early detection of any changes in breast tissue. Our study aimed to empower the rural women to be self-aware and self-detect initial stage of possible breast cancer and enable them to seeking healthcare on time. Methods: This was a quasi-experimental study with women given health education about breast self-examination in rural settings of Islamabad, Pakistan. The pre and post intervention difference in knowledge and practices were tested through paired t-test. Results: During the pre-test, the knowledge (16.4%) and practice (16.7%) of BSE in women was low. Following intervention during the post-test, the knowledge of women about BSE increased to 99.4%, (t=21.585, p=0.000) and 56.7%, (t=11.613, p=0.000) of them practiced BSE in the previous month. Conclusion: In a country with high burden of breast cancer, women residing in rural areas and under low income quintile, breast self-examination can prove an effective strategy in addressing high prevalence of breast cancer among Pakistani females.

Perceptions and knowledge of breast cancer and breast self-examination among young adult women in southwest Ethiopia: Application of the health belief model.

Breast cancer is still a recognized public health issue in Ethiopia. Despite this, the viewpoints and comprehensions of young women about the situation are unknown. Therefore, this study was carried out to assess the knowledge and perceptions of young adult women in Southwest Ethiopia about breast cancer and breast self-examination (BSE). A community-based cross-sectional study was carried out in the Gurage zone, southwest Ethiopia, in 2021. A total of 392 young adult women were randomly selected from both urban and rural strata using a three-stage stratified sampling process. A pretested questionnaire was used to collect the data. For data entry, Epi-data 4.6 with a double-entry approach was used, and for analysis, SPSS 26 was used. Bivariate and multivariable logistic regression analyses were performed to identify variables associated with BSE behavior. A p-value of 0.05 or below was considered statistically significant with a 95% CI. The respondents' ages ranged from 20 to 24, with a mean of 21.25 (±1.32) years. Breast cancer and BSE were unknown to more than 80% of the study participants. A large proportion of young adult women had low perceived susceptibility (97.6%), low threat of breast cancer (96%), and low self-efficacy to perform BSE (91.4%). BSE was conducted by 23.1% of the participants occasionally. Being married (AOR = 5.31, 95% CI = 2.19-12.90), having good outcome expectations of BSE (AOR = 2.05, 95% CI = 1.16-3.61), having good BSE knowledge (AOR = 1.22, 95% CI = 1.04-1.45), having high perceived susceptibility (AOR = 1.12, 95% CI = 1.05-1.20), high perceived severity (AOR = 1.78, 95% CI = 1.02-3.09), and having high self-efficacy to do BSE (AOR = 1.05, 95% CI = 1.01-1.09) were all significant predictors of BSE practice. Young adult women were less concerned about breast cancer and had insufficient knowledge of breast cancer and breast self-examination. They have little knowledge of, confidence in, or experience with BSE. The practice of BSE was associated with increased perceived susceptibility, self-efficacy, severity, outcome expectations, and BSE knowledge. Therefore, these variables should be considered when developing educational interventions for young women.

Analisis Perilaku Pemeriksaan Payudara Sendiri (SADARI) pada Mahasiswi Fakultas Kedokteran Universitas Baiturrahmah

Breast self examination is one of the efforts to detect breast cancer early. This examination can find lumps or changes in the breast that could be a sign of a tumor or breast cancer that requires medical attention. To find out the description of breast self-examination behavior in students of the Faculty of Medicine, Baiturrahmah University class 2017. This study was descriptive categorical with a research design was cross sectional. The population of this study were students of the Faculty of Medicine, Baiturrahmah University with 87 samples using simple random sampling technique by following inclusion and exclusion criteria, the data was from a quiestionnaire and presented in a frequency distribution table. The results of data analysis obtained from respondens that (47.1%) had knowledge of breast self-examination, with sufficient category, (58.6%) had attitude category is good in breast self-examination, and (43.7%) perform breast self-examination for early detection of breast cancer. The respondens have sufficient knowledge about breast self-examination, have a good attitude about breast self-examination, and less than 50% perform breast self-examination for early detection of breast cancer.

A Different Approach to Breast Self-Examination Training: Family Training

Background. Breast self-examination (BSE) is an effective, cost-free, early diagnosis method that enables women to take responsibility for their own health in the early diagnosis of breast cancer, which is the most common cause of death in women.
 The objective of the study was to determine the effect of BSE training given by female nursing students to their mothers and sisters on their BSE behavior and self-esteem.
 Materials and Methods. This study is of one-group pretest-posttest quasi-experimental design. It was carried out at the Faculty of Health Sciences of Erzincan University in Turkey between December 2019 and May 2020. The universe of the study consisted of 140 third- and fourth-year female students over the age of 18 enrolled in the Department of Nursing, Faculty of Health Sciences, Erzincan University, Turkey. The total number of mothers and sisters in the study sample was 126. The data were collected in two stages, before and one month after family training. IBM SPSS Statistics 22 software package was used for statistical data analysis. The percentage, mean, standard deviation, and Student’s t-test were used for statistical processing. The p-value of 0.05 was considered statistically significant for all tests.
 Results. The knowledge level of study participants about breast cancer and BSE was analyzed, and the source of their knowledge was assessed. Applying family training approach showed a significant increase in BSE knowledge level of participants one month after training. It was accompanied by increasing BSE skills and self-esteem levels (according to the mean values of the Rosenberg Self-Esteem Scale).
 Conclusions. Training for family members is an effective method to increase women' s knowledge and skills in BSE. In addition, BSE training enabled female students and their families to participate in BSE practice.

KNOWLEDGE, ATTITUDE AND PRACTICE OF BREAST SELF-EXAMINATION AND BREAST CANCER AMONG FEMALE HEALTHCARE WORKERS IN SUPERCARE HOSPITAL: A PILOT STUDY

Objective: Breast cancer is the leading cause of mortality and morbidity among the females in India. Breast Self-examination (BSE) can play a huge role in early detection and diagnosis thereby signicantly reduce morbidity, and prompt timely treatment. The main aim of the study was to access the Knowledge, attitude and practice of breast self-examination and cancer awareness among the female healthcare workers. Methodology: The cross-sectional pilot study was conducted in Supercare hospital, Shillong and 27 female workers responded to the questioner. The questioners were divided into three categories to access the Knowledge, attitude and practice of BSE and awareness of breast cancer. Results: 22.22% of the participants had very good knowledge of breast cancer and BSE, 74% had good knowledge and 3.7% had average knowledge. 40.51±4.9 is the mean and SD for the knowledge for breast cancer and self-breast awareness. 48% respondents average practice BSE and 11% good and 41% poor practice of BSE was observed. The female healthcare workers attitude towards BSE was overall good. Conclusion: Majority of the respondents are aware of breast cancer but very few practice breast self-examination. It is recommended to educate and train female health worker to act as peer educator who are agent of health care information to the community and the society at large

EFEKTIFITAS MEDIA VIDEO TERHADAP PENGETAHUAN SADARI

Data from the Global Burden of Cancer (GLOBOCAN) released by the World Health Organization (WHO) states that the number of cases and deaths from cancer until 2018 was 18.1 million cases and 9.6 million deaths in 2018. This study aims to determine the effectiveness of health education for adolescents aged 15-20 years with video media on Knowledge of Breast Self-Examination The method used in this study was the Quasi-Experimental method, the quasi-experimental design used was "One-Group Pretest-Posttest Design". ", which consists of one group of subjects, the population in the study is adolescents aged 15-20 years at SMAN 14 Jakarta for the 2020/2021 period. The research sample was selected using the Random Cluster sample technique. In this study bivariate analysis was carried out to determine the effectiveness of video media in knowledge about BSE, was carried out using the Wilcoxon Sign Test. If p < 0.05 then there is a significant effect meaning at the level of effectiveness of video media during the pretest and posttest. The results showed that the health education intervention about BSE given through video media to SMAN 14 Jakarta students could increase the knowledge of students by 5, from 3 (before the intervention) to 8 (after the intervention). intervention)

Breast Self-Examination Knowledge and its Determinants among Female Students at Addis Ababa University, Ethiopia: An Institution-Based Cross-Sectional Study.

Introduction Breast self-examination is a noninvasive, low-cost screening method for breast cancer detection. A thorough awareness of breast self-examination enables the early detection of breast abnormalities and dramatically lowers breast cancer complications and mortality. The purpose of this study was to investigate the level of knowledge about breast self-examination and its associated factors among female students at Addis Ababa University, Ethiopia. Methods An institution-based cross-sectional study design was employed. The final calculated sample size was 407, and participants were recruited using a proportionate stratified random sampling approach. For data entry and coding, EPI Data 3.1 statistical software was utilized, and for data analysis, SPSS version 18 was employed. The data was described using descriptive analysis. Bivariate and multivariate logistic regression analyses were performed to determine the strength of the association between the predictor and the outcome variables. A 95% confidence interval and a p-value of less than 0.05 were used to declare statistical significance. Results The findings of this study revealed that 49.9% of respondents possessed good breast self-examination knowledge. Previously, urban residents were about two times more likely to have good knowledge of BSE than their rural counterparts (AOR =2.16, 95% CI (1.18–39.91), p =0.011). The odds of having good BSE knowledge were about three times more likely among those who had a good attitude than those who had a poor attitude (AOR =3.17, 95% CI (2.02–4.74), p <0.001). Those who knew someone with a diagnosis of breast cancer were almost three times more likely to have good knowledge than those who did not know (AOR =2.95, 95% CI (1.77-4.91), p <0.001). Conclusion According to the findings of this survey, less than half of the students who participated had good knowledge of breast self-examination. This justifies raising awareness about breast self-examination among female students.

Knowledge on risk factors and practice of early detection methods of breast cancer among graduating students of Debre Tabor University, Northcentral Ethiopia

BackgroundBreast cancer is the greatest common cancer in women worldwide, with approximately 1.7 million new cases diagnosed each year in the world which accounts for 12% of all new cancer cases and 25% of all cancers in women. Even though the higher mortality rate of breast cancer in low and middle-income countries, the practice of early detection methods is low and the majority of the patients who appeared at an advanced stage of the disease need palliative care with little survival rates. However, evidence is scarce on the knowledge and practice of breast cancer early detection methods among women of reproductive age in Ethiopia. Therefore we aimed to assess the knowledge on risk factors and practice of early detection methods of breast cancer among female graduating students of Debre Tabor University.MethodsInstitution-based cross-sectional study was conducted. A stratified random sampling technique was used. Data were collected with a self-administer questionnaire. The collected data were processed and analyzed with the computer using SPSS version 25 software. Descriptive statistics were used to describe the socio-demographic information of participants. Binary and multivariable logistic regression with an adjusted odds ratio (AOR) and 95% confidence interval (CI) was used to identify factors associated with the outcome variable. Statistical significance was stated at p < 0.05.ResultA total of 270 female students participated in the study. The median age (± SD) was 24.63 years (± 1.26). All of the students heard about breast cancer and early detection methods. About 206 (76.67%) of the participants had good knowledge of breast self-examination. Mass media, health professionals, and friends in combination were the main source of information 172 (63.77%), only 110 (40.70%) of students performed a breast-self-examination and the rest did not perform it due to forgetting fullness and lack of knowledge. About 208 (77.1%) of the respondents respond family history is a risk factor for breast cancer. Being a health science student (AOR = 2.32; 95% CI: 2.12, 3.52), family history of breast problems (AOR = 3.41; 95% CI: 3.22, 8.33), and having a good level of knowledge (AOR = 1.83; 95% CI: 1.01, 5.68) were the factors associated with the practice of breast self-examination.ConclusionMost of the participants were unaware of the benefits, appropriate timing, and techniques of doing a breast self-examination. Health science students had better awareness & practice of breast self-examination than non-health science students. Trained health professionals must give focus on giving health information regarding risk factors of breast cancer and methods of early detection of breast cancer to the public & their clients.

Breast self-examination as a route to early detection in a lower-middle-income country: assessing psychosocial determinants among women in Surabaya, Indonesia

BackgroundBreast cancer has become a public health concern in Indonesia. Regular breast self-examination (BSE) is considered an important first step for its early detection, especially in countries with limited healthcare access, as it is the case in Indonesia. This study aimed to confirm and assess the psychosocial determinants of intention to perform BSE and BSE performance.MethodsThe cross-sectional study was conducted on 204 women aged 18–65 years in Surabaya, Indonesia. A 64-item survey was conducted, included variables from the Reasoned Action Approach, and the Health Belief Model, presented questions about demographics, breast cancer knowledge, and behavior related to BSE.ResultsMost women (72.5%) expressed intention to perform BSE; however, only 7.8% and 2.9% performed BSE per week and per month, respectively, in the past year. Breast cancer knowledge and attitudes towards BSE were uniquely associated with BSE performance. Perceived behavioral control (PBC) and BSE attitudes were unique correlates of intention. Perceived benefits and barriers and subjective norms were significantly associated with intention and BSE behavior in bivariate analyses.ConclusionsBreast screening education should incorporate strategies for improving attitudes towards BSE, PBC, and breast cancer knowledge with perceived benefits and barriers and subjective norms as relevant targets.

Factors Influencing the Practice of Breast Self-Examination among Female Tertiary Students in Ho, Ghana

Background. Despite the implementation of various interventions towards the reduction of breast cancer prevalence, many women still report late symptoms to health facilities, and this decreases their chances of survival. Breast self-examination (BSE) is the most convenient form of examination to detect the development of breast cancer. We examined the factors that influence the practice of breast self-examination among female tertiary students in Ho, Volta Region of Ghana. Methods. This was a descriptive cross-sectional study that recruited 506 female students from four tertiary institutions in the Ho Municipality in Ghana using questionnaires. Descriptive and inferential statistics comprising frequency, percentage, Chi-square, and binary logistic regression were used in analyzing the data. Results. About 73% of the respondents had ever practised BSE. Out of the respondents who have ever practiced BSE, 79% were practising it at the time of the study. Students in their fourth year were above 4 times more likely (95% CI = 1.73–9.29, p = 0.014 ) to practise BSE than those in their first year. Also, students with good knowledge of BSE were 4 times more likely to practice BSE [(95% CI = 1.1–13.46), p = 0.036 ] and students with good perception about BSE were 12 times more likely to practice BSE [(95% CI = 1.21–122.73), p = 0.034 ]. Conclusion. The study found that 27% of the female students had never practised BSE. Those who practice BSE did not practice regularly and appropriately. Also, good knowledge and perception are associated with the practice of BSE. The implication of this result is the late presentation of breast cancer cases to health facilities and increases in breast cancer-related deaths in the country. Therefore, it is recommended that the Ministry of Health, the Ghana Health Service, and other stakeholders in Ghana’s healthcare should develop and implement innovative approaches and policies such as peer and support groups’ learning, and mass media BSE awareness aimed at ensuring better understanding and access to BSE education. This should be intensified during the foundation years such as the secondary and tertiary education levels to ensure the adoption of breast self-examination practice. It is also recommended that another study must be done using a qualitative approach to get an in-depth understanding of the steps and ways, by which female students practice BSE.

Knowledge and practice of breast self-examination among female nursing students at Majmaah University, Saudi Arabia

Breast cancer is one of the most common types of cancer in Saudi Arabia, as well as worldwide. Most breast cancer cases are detected at advanced stages, and one possible reason is that many Saudi women are not aware of breast self-examination (BSE). Few studies have examined the knowledge and practice of BSE among female nursing students in Saudi Arabia, and most of those have focused on major cities. Therefore, the aim of this study is to determine the knowledge and practice of BSE among Saudi nursing students at Majma’ah University, Kingdom of Saudi Arabia. This study used a descriptive cross-sectional design involving 100 nursing students there. The results of this research have revealed that there is a low level of practice of BSE among nursing students and irregular performance of BSE for those who practice it. Subsequently, there is an urgent need to empower awareness, attitude, and practice of BSE among nursing students in Saudi Arabia.

Effect of Health Education Intervention on Practice of Breast Self–Examination Among Women of Reproductive Age in Selected Primary Healthcare Facilities in Ogun State, Nigeria

The study examined effect of health education intervention on practice of breast self–examination among women of reproductive age in selected primary healthcare facilities in Ogun State, Nigeria. The study specifically examined the pre- and post- intervention knowledge and practice of breast self-examination among women of reproductive age in selected primary healthcare facilities. This study adopted one group pretest-posttest quasi-experimental research design. The population for the study comprises of women of reproductive age in two selected primary healthcare facilities in Ogun State. The researcher adapted a well-structured test paper that was used to obtain information from respondents. The instrument was validated by experts consisting of nursing professionals as well as experienced professional researchers who ascertained face and content validity. The research was carried out in three phases namely pre-intervention, intervention and post-intervention. Descriptive statistics such as frequency counts and percentages were used to answer the research question while inferential statistics of t-test was used to test the hypotheses. The findings of this study show that majority of the respondents at the pre-intervention phase had average knowledge of breast self-examination while the knowledge level was high after intervention. The findings of this study however show that majority of the respondents at the pre-intervention phase had never practice breast self-examination while the practice level was high after intervention. The study concluded that the health education intervention program improved the practice of breast self-examination among women of reproductive age. It was recommended among others that health educational intervention regarding practice of breast self-examination should be done periodically by health workers during clinics for women of reproductive age.

Awareness and practice of breast self-examination (BSE) with its socio-demographic associates

Introduction: Breast cancer is the most common cancer of women worldwide. Early diagnosis of it has a very important role in its management. Breast self-examination (BSE) is a key to the early diagnosis of breast cancer. Materials and Methods: A community-based cross-sectional study was conducted on 300 females of Jaipur city. This study was conducted by a house-to-house survey through a systematic random sampling technique in the field practice area of the Urban Health Training Centre (UHTC) of SMS medical college, Jaipur (Rajasthan), India. A predesigned semi-structured questionnaire containing predesigned questions regarding knowledge and practice of BSE was used to collect data. A Chi-square test was used to find out associations. Results: Only 18% of females were aware of BSE and 5.7% of the females were practicing BSE. Health professionals (31.03%) were the main source of knowledge. Only 50% of females who have heard the name of BSE, knew that it is performed by self. Awareness and practice of BSE both were found to be associated with religion, education, socioeconomic status, and occupation and there was no association with age and marital status. Females with higher education and socioeconomic status were more aware of BSE. The most common (94.69%) reason for not practicing BSE was the lack of awareness of steps followed by ‘find it unnecessary’. Conclusion: As knowledge and practice of BSE were observed very poor and considering the important role that can be played by BSE in the early diagnosis and management of breast cancer, there is an urgent need to implement and reinforce BSE in the existing cancer awareness and screening programs. IEC activities regarding BSE also motivated proper knowledge of BSE.

Assessment of knowledge on breast self-examination among female adolescent: a cross-sectional study

Background: Breast self-examination is the most important screening method for early detection and diagnosis of Breast cancer. Females assess their breasts regularly to detect any abnormalities to seek instant medical attention. Objectives: The main objective of the study was to assess the knowledge on breast self-examination among female adolescents of Nepal. Method: A cross-sectional study was conducted using self-structured questionnaires among female adolescents of Model Multiple College, Dhanusha. The sample size was 120 participants. Probability proportionate stratified sampling technique was used to collect the data from October 28th to November 12th, 2013. Data were processed through Statistical Package for Social Sciences version 16 and analyzed using descriptive statistics. Results: Out of 120 participants 67.5% participants had knowledge about breast cancer and 40% had knowledge of breast self-examination (BSE). Most of them (94.2%) had a poor knowledge of BSE followed by 5.8% of participants with a moderate level of knowledge of BSE. The mean knowledge score was 18.7 ± 3.5. The majority (66.7%) of participants were from science faculties. More than half (51.7%) of participants stated source of information on BSE was health personnel. Only 25% of the respondent had a family history of breast cancer. Conclusion: The study revealed that most (94.2%) of the participants had poor knowledge of breast self-examination. There is further need for awareness and health education on breast self-examination.

A Study to Assess the Effectiveness of Planned Teaching Programme on Knowledge of Breast Self-Examination among Postnatal Women

Breast abnormalities are one of the important public health problem and studies have reported that awareness and practice of breast examination is an important method of prevention. Breast problems are significant health concerned to post natal women’s life time. One in every eight post natal women will be diagnosed with breast abnormalities A breast exam is a self-inspection of the breasts. This gives a greater awareness of the condition of breasts. Breast exams may help identify potential breast problems. Breast examination is essential for early breast abnormalities detection. The pre-experimental study was carried out in SRMS hospital with an objective to evaluate the effectiveness of PTP among post natal women regarding BSE (Breast Self examination). Data was obtained from 50 post natal mothers in the age group 20-40 years. A set of 20 questionnaires were used to evaluate the knowledge of post natal mothers. Purposive sampling technique was used. The research design of the study was pre experimental one group pretest posttest design. The result shows the significant difference in pre-test and post-test knowledge scores of post natal mothers. In the pre-test majority 96% had poor scores and 4%had average scores, whereas in the post-test majority76% had good scores and 24% average scores. Nurses play a pivotal role in teaching the BSE to the women’s to identify the Breast abnormalities. The nurses who can promote monthly BSE should be perfect by supporting realistic believes about early detection &amp; prevention of breast abnormalities as well as demonstrating BSE, so that the women can do it themselves without consulting physician.

Assessing The Nurses’ Knowledge and Practices Related with Early Diagnosis of Breast Cancer

Aim: To examine nurses’ knowledge, behaviors, and practices about breast cancer. Material and Methods: The universe of this descriptive and cross-sectional study consists of 535 nurses working at Fırat University Hospital in Elazıg-Turkey and 495 of them were contacted. Study data were obtained using a survey form aiming to determine the sociodemographic characteristics, knowledge, and behaviors of nurses about breast cancer and early diagnosis methods. Data were examined using numbers, mean values, percentages, and the Chi-Square test. Results: The mean age of participants was 29.46±7.27 years, 88.7% were female, and 46.7% were single. Although 65.6% of nurses perform breast self-examination (BSE), only 15.9% were regularly implementing this method. The percentage of those having complete command of BSE was 52.2%, whereas the percentage of those having no knowledge was 12.3%. The ratio of having clinical breast examination (CBE) by physician was 15.4%. The ratio of having mammography was 53.6%. Advancing age, considering the knowledge on breast cancer sufficient, and following the scientific publications on breast cancer were found to have a statistically significant effect on implementation of early diagnosis methods (p&lt;0.05). Conclusion: Since nurses are healthcare professionals, it was determined that they do not have sufficient knowledge of BSE and the percentage of implementing early diagnosis methods for breast cancer was low. Interventions should be made to support the nurses’ knowledge and behaviors related with breast cancer and early diagnosis methods with educational instruments and to determine and minimize the factors preventing the implementation of protective health behaviors.

To Assess the Knowledge of Breast Self Examination and Awareness about Breast Cancer among the Female Students of Baba Farid Institute of Technology, Dehradun

To Assess the Knowledge of Breast Self Examination and Awareness about Breast Cancer among the Female Students of Baba Farid Institute of Technology, Dehradun

Relationship of Knowledge in Women Age 25-50 Years in RW 05 Cibubur, East Jakarta on BSE Knowledge as Early Detection of Breast Cancer

In Indonesia, based on Indonesia’s Health Profile 2008, the top 10 major malignant neoplasm disease or cancer inpatients at the hospital since 2004-2008 has not changed much. The first rating is breast malignant neoplasm or breast cancer. Society rarely knows that it is important to perform BSE (breast self-examination) early, which can help reduce the incidence of morbidity or mortality of breast cancer patients. The purpose of this study was to determine the relationship between knowledge in women aged 25-50 years at RW 05 Cibubur, East Jakarta, on BSE as early detection of breast cancer. This research employed an analytic survey with the cross-sectional approach. The employed technique in sampling was simple random sampling. It was done with the lottery technique to population members. The results of the 207 respondents showed that respondents with bad BSE knowledge were 100 people (48.3%) and respondents with good knowledge were 107 (51.7%). The respondents who practiced the BSE were 95 (45.9%), and the respondents who did not were 112 people (54.1%). The statistical test results had a very strong correlation with the value of 0.832 and correlated with the statistical value of 0.000.&#x0D; Keywords: Breast Cancer, Knowledge, BSE (Breast Self-Examination), Women Aged 25-50 Years at RW 05 Cibubur East Jakarta.

PREDICTORS OF BREAST SELF EXAMINATION AMONG FEMALE UNDERGRADUATES IN LAGOS STATE, NIGERIA

Breast self-examination is a cheap and easy to practice method of detecting mad cells in the breast tissue, as early detection has been proven to increase the chance of survival. The study assessed the Breast Self-Examination (BSE) knowledge and practice among female undergraduates in Lagos State. A cross-sectional survey was conducted among two hundred and thirty female undergraduates in Lagos State. The respondents were drawn from Lagos State University and the University of Lagos using a simple random sampling technique. A self-developed breast self-examination questionnaire (BSEQ) was used to elicit information on knowledge and practice of BSE among the participants. Chi-square test of association was used to test the association between the variables. The result of this study revealed that there was a significant association (χ2 =18.14, P-value = 0.234&amp;lt; 0.05) between knowledge of BSE and practice of BSE, but there exist no statistically significant association (χ2 = 15.10, P-value = 0.009˃0.05) between the age of the respondents and the practice of BSE. Family economic status does not have a significant association (χ2 = 13.15, P-value = 0.02˃0.05) with the practice of BSE. Also, the number of years spent in the school by the respondent does not have any significant association (χ2 = 6.33, P-value = 0.007˃0.05) with their practice of BSE. Having a close relative diagnosed with breast cancer encouraged (χ2 = 11.05, P-value = 0.114&amp;lt; 0.05) the practice of breast self-examination. This study concluded that awareness of BSE and practice was high among the respondents; however, only a minor proportion practiced BSE properly and regularly. Therefore, there is a wide gap between knowledge and proper practice of breast self-examination, hence there is a need for health educators to rise up to their responsibility as the town crier through strategic advocacy using the media and other available means.&lt;p&gt; &lt;/p&gt;&lt;p&gt;&lt;strong&gt; Article visualizations:&lt;/strong&gt;&lt;/p&gt;&lt;p&gt;&lt;img src="/-counters-/edu_01/0944/a.php" alt="Hit counter" /&gt;&lt;/p&gt;

Breast Self-examination Practice among Medical Postgraduate Female Students of Southern Odisha: A Cross-sectional Study

Introduction: Breast cancer is on the rise among females in India. Breast Self-Examination (BSE) is an easy to learn, self monitoring screening modality which can be done in utmost privacy. A proportionate increase in incidence of breast cancer is now reported among urban educated females. Even doctors neglect their own health and are the at-risk population for Non Communicable Diseases (NCDs). Aim: To assess the knowledge, attitude and practice of postgraduates on BSE. Materials and Methods: This was a cross-sectional study conducted between August 2021 to October 2021 at M.K.C.G. Medical College, Berhampur, Odisha, India. Study population included 100 female postgraduate students. A predesigned structured questionnaire was prepared by thorough review of literature and was validated by experts. Data was collected on knowledge, attitude and practice of BSE from the study participants using Google form. Scoring was done and correlation was found out between the parameters. Chi-square test and the Fisher Exact Test was used for statistical analysis. Results: About 82 respondents completed the form. About 66 (80.48%) were in age group of 25-29 years, 7 (8.53%) had family history of breast cancer, 8 (9.75%) had discovered abnormality while practicing BSE. The median scores in knowledge of breast cancer and BSE was 36 and 17 respectively. The median scores of attitude and practice were 42 and 13 each. Spearman’s rank correlation between knowledge and attitude was positively correlated (r=0.324, p=0.003), attitude and practice was positively correlated (r=0.317, p=0.004) and knowledge and practice was not correlated (r=0.173, p=0.120). No significant difference in practice was found for participants with family history of breast cancer (p=0.353) and personal history of breast abnormality (p=0.672) and those who had no history. However a significant association was found between knowledge on frequency of BSE and monthly practice of BSE (p=0.003). Conclusion: In this study 50% of the participants did not know about the age of starting BSE as 20 years. All the steps were not followed by those who performed BSE. The most common reason for not practicing BSE was lack of time. Knowledgepractice gaps exist among the future professionals.