Breast Self-examination: Knowledge, Attitude and Practice among Female College Students

Abstract

In low–middle-income countries, breast self-examination (BSE) is a simple, practicable, and appropriate tool for breast cancer screening. The goal of this study was to analyze female college students' knowledge and practice of BSE. A cross-sectional study of 200 female students was done using a convenient sampling technique. The self administered questionnaire with the socio-demographic data, questions about knowledge, attitudes and practice regarding BSE was used to collect the data among the female college students of an educational institution. The descriptive and inferential statistics was used to analyse the data. The results show that the level of knowledge on BSE among 77% of the girls was inadequate and 61% of them had negative practice towards BSE. Despite the good attitude (69%) about BSE, there was inadequate knowledge and practice. The participants' age and family history of breast cancer was positively associated with their attitude (p = 0.01) and knowledge (p= 0.05) respectively. The study recommends the mass awareness campaigns related to BSE and early detection of breast cancer to be given to improve the knowledge, attitude and practice of the women and thereby reduce the related morbidity and mortality.