Evaluation of Knowledge, Practice, and Barriers Towards Breast Self-Examination (BSE)

Abstract

Introduction: Breast cancer affects 2.1 million women each year and causes the highest number of cancer-related deaths among women. Several modalities such as mammography, ultrasound, magnetic resonance imaging & biopsy are used for diagnostic purposes; clinical breast examination (CBE) & breast self-examination (BSE) are performed as part of screening approaches. The objective of this research is to evaluate knowledge, practices, and barriers to breast cancer. Methods: A cross-sectional study was carried out among 235 women in a tertiary hospital, from March to June 2020. Data were collected using a validated questionnaire adapted from previous study and distributed by hand. Results: Most of the respondents were single (68.9%), university graduate (82.6%) and students (39.6%). There was a significant difference between BSE performers and non-performers correlated to education level, marital status, occupation, family history of breast cancer, and knowledge level of BSE. BSE performers had lower mean scores for barriers compared to non-performers. Conclusion: Overall findings indicate respondents have a moderate knowledge level of BSE with 64.7% (n = 152). Other than that, 57.0% (n = 134) of women practice BSE. Thus, BSE educational programs should be carried out in society for the early detection of breast cancer.