Survey of Knowledge, Attitude, and Practice of Female Employees of Health Centers in Jiroft about Breast Cancer Screening in 2018

Given the key role of health professionals in educating women on breast cancer screening programs, it seems necessary to implement plans to improve the  levels of awareness, attitudes, beliefs and, consequently, the performance of this group regarding breast cancer prevention programs. The aim of this study was to investigate the knowledge, attitude and practice of female employees of health centers in Jiroft about breast cancer screening in 2018.

This research is a cross-sectional descriptive study, in which the study population was female employees of health centers in Jiroft. Sampling was done using the census method. A short, standardized questionnaire, previously used by Khani et al., was used to collect data. Data were analyzed using SPSS software and descriptive and analytical statistical tests.

Among the 216 questionnaires collected (154 urban and 62 rural), the mean knowledge and attitude scores of the subjects, including health workers, midwives, and nurses, were 7.02 out of 20 and 36.7 out of 50, respectively. In terms of performance, 40.7% (88 people) had never had a breast self-examination and 76.4% (165 people) had never performed a clinical breast examination on patients, and 91.2% (197 people) had never had a mammogram.

The level of knowledge and attitude of the subjects was at an average level based on the obtained scores of 7.02 and 36.7, respectively, and their performance was poor and unacceptable. Given that female employees of health centers can improve the behaviors of the community, the implementation of regular and codified educational programs on breast cancer prevention, especially breast self-examination, clinical breast examination, and mammography, for this group seems necessary.