Awareness, Attitude and Practices Regarding Breast Cancer Screening among Community Women

Abstract

Background: Breast cancer is the most common cancer among women worldwide. In Nepal, it is the second most common cancer. Early detection of breast cancer serves a leading role in the reduction of breast cancer mortality. The aim of this study was to assess the awareness, attitude and practices regarding breast cancer screening among community women Method: A cross sectional descriptive study was carried among 316 community women. Probability simple random sampling technique was used to select the sample. Self-administered questionnaire was used to collect data. Data analysis was done by using SPSS version 16. Result: Our results indicated that very few (7.3%) participants had good knowledge towards breast cancer screening. Half (50%) had poor attitude. Sixty two percent of participants had done breast self-examination, one fourth (25%) had done clinical breast examination and very low (10%) had done mammogram. Though very few participants demonstrated good knowledge, about 90% of participants were aware that lump in breast can be related to breast cancer and agreed that every woman is risk for breast cancer. Conclusion: Majority of women demonstrated poor knowledge, attitude and practice towards breast cancer screening. Thus, effort should be put forth to increase the awareness of breast cancer screening for the early detection of breast cancer in the early stage. Key words: attitude, awareness, practice, breast cancer screening, community women.