The effect of cell phone educational intervention on knowledge and performance in breast self-examination

Information technologies are valuable tools in health education and promotion and are very useful for examining the level of awareness and function of society.The purpose of this study was therefore to investigate the effect of cell phone education on breast self-examination.

The quasi-experimental study was conducted as an educational intervention in 2020 in 56 health centers of Kahnooj city with ethical considerations (approved by the ethics committee of Kerman University of Medical Sciences). The study population consisted of 40 female health workers in health care centers who were selected by census. Data were collected using a researcher-made questionnaire that included three sections: demographic information, awareness and performance. Questionnaires were sent via WhatsApp, answers were received using WhatsApp, then training files were sent via WhatsApp for samples. One month after the training, the questionnaires were distributed again and the answers were received. Data were analyzed using SPSS 20 through descriptive (mean and frequency) and dependent t-test.

The results showed that there was a difference between the mean scores of knowledge of 3.5 and 5.87 and performance of 3.15 and 5.8 before and after training, respectively. Also a significant relationship between degree with knowledge and performance and between information sources with knowledge (P<0.001). However, no significant relationship was found between information sources and performance (p=0.1).

Self-examination is the simplest screening method for early detection of breast cancer. Awareness and practice of individuals could reduce deaths due to this cancer and this behavior requires continuous education.