Assessment of the Awareness and Practice of Women vis-à-vis Breast Self-Examination in Fasa in 2011

Breast cancer is one of the most important causes of women''s mortality the world over. Breast self-examination (BSE) is a method that often leads to detect breast cancer in the early stage. This study aimed at assessing the awareness and practice of women in the city of FASA vis-à-vis BSE.

In this descriptive-analytical study، 300 women over 15 years old who referred to the health centers of Fasa were chosen via the clustered method. A questionnaire comprising items about the patients’ demographics as well as their awareness and practice regarding BSE was completed for all the study population by a trained midwife through interviews. Subsequently، descriptive statistics، x2، and t-test were employed for analysis using SPSS Software (version 15).

Fifty-five per cent of the cases had poor knowledge and 90% had poor practice. There was a significant correlation between knowledge and practice (p value < 0. 0001). The highest level of knowledge was found among those with university levels of education. There was also a significant correlation between practice and educational levels (p value < 0. 0001).

Given that the majority of the women under study had poor knowledge and function vis-à-vis BSE، it seems advisable that regular and systematic training programs be devised in relation to breast cancer prevention strategies such as practical classes on BSE، breast clinical examination، and mammography in order to raise awareness among women about the need to perform BSE.