Breast cancer knowledge and screening practices among female secondary schools teachers in an urban local government area, Ibadan, Nigeria

Abstract

Breast cancer a major public health challenge is often associated with high morbidity which often times is not unconnected with poor knowledge and screening practices. Teachers who are seen as role model are the key stakeholders in prevention of breast cancer (BC). However their knowledge and screening practices have not been fully explored. Therefore this study was designed to investigate knowledge of breast cancer and screening practices of female Senior Secondary (SS) school teachers in an urban local government area of Ibadan, Nigeria. The study was cross-sectional in design and it involved all the 411 female teachers in SS school. A semi-structured questionnaire was used to assess breast cancer awareness, knowledge of BC; self reported practice of Self Breast Examination (SBE), Clinical Breast Examination (CBE) and Mammography as well as factors influencing screening practices. Knowledge of BC was measured using a 30-point scale categorized into poor 0-14, fair 15-21, and good 22-30 knowledge respectively. Respondents' mean age and years of service were 39.8±8.5 and 12.0±8.5 years respectively. About two-thirds (79.8%) were married, 70.0% had first degrees and 46.0% masters degrees. Majority (93.2%) had heard of BC and the main sources of information were television (66.4%) and radio (42.0%); 76.2% claimed to have heard about SBE, 10.7% knew the appropriate age for commencing SBE. One hundred and eleven (36.2%) had ever practiced SBE and only 27.6% of these examined their breast monthly. Of the 73 and 163 respondents who have heard of mammography and CBE 1.6 and 4.6% had ever gone for either of the screening respectively. The mean knowledge score of BC was 8.8 ± 4.5. About 86.3% had poor knowledge, 13.0% had fair knowledge and 0.7% had good knowledge of BC. Some respondents believed that BC could be cured (42.3%) and 64.5% believed that BC was a disease of young girls. Almost thirty five percent (34.8%) did not practice BC screening because they did not know how it is done. There was no statistically significant difference in the knowledge of BC and the age of respondents. Knowledge and screening practice for BC is low among the respondents. There is a need to organize series of health education programmes aimed at improving knowledge of breast cancer and screening practices.

Awareness about breast cancer and mammogram among women attending outpatient clinics, Ain Shams University Hospitals, Egypt

“…In this study, 86% of participants were aware that mammogram was recommended above 40 years and this result was found in a group of women with good knowledge about healthy lifestyle and healthy practices including spacing between births and family planning [20]. This result disagrees with Ojewusi and Arulogun's study [4] in which only 3.3% identified the age of 40 as a recommended age for mammogram screening. According to Milicent et al [20], women who were most likely to benefit from mammography aged 50 to 69 years, as this age had high prevalence of low breast density.…”

“…This finding agreed with Boulos and Ghali [16] study among Ain Shams University female students aged from 17 to 23 years, who showed that most study participants had low level of knowledge about breast cancer risk factors. More than 85% of study participants knew that mammogram was recommended above the age of 40 which disagrees with Ojewusi and Arulogun's study, 2016, in their Nigerian study [4]. They found that 1.6% only of their participants knew that 40 years is the recommended age for mammogram.…”

“…This is obviously because higher educational level makes people able to find knowledge sources about different diseases and to have positive attitude to their screening. On the other hand, Ojewusi and Arulogun [4] found in their study on Nigerian teachers that higher level of education was not a significant determinant of BSE practice and hence their attitude towards screening. This might be an effect of culture that overcomes effect of education.…”

“…On the other hand, 71.4% of Indian women were not aware that breast cancer increases with age and this was according to Dahiya et al [17]. Lack of awareness about this unmodifiable risk factor was also reported in Ojewusi and Arulogun's study [4] (79.2%).…”

“…Breast cancer is now also the leading cause of death among women from all cancers in developing countries [3]. Additionally, breast cancer mortality rates in African women are higher in comparison to women living in Western countries [4].…”