Comparative Assessment of Knowledge, Attitudes, and Practice of Breast Self-Examination among Female Secondary and Tertiary School Students in Ghana

Abstract

Background Breast cancer remains a serious public health problem globally. It is particularly increasing among adolescents and premenopausal women. Breast self-examination (BSE) is the most effective and feasible means of detecting breast cancer early in developing countries. This study aimed at evaluating and comparing knowledge of BSE among secondary and tertiary school students and at revealing their attitudes and practices about BSE. Method This cross-sectional study was conducted among 1036 female secondary and tertiary school students of Kwame Nkrumah University of Science and Technology and Technology Senior High School. Data was obtained using a pretested questionnaire to access sociodemography, knowledge, attitudes, and practice of BSE among the students. Result Most students were within the age of 15–24 years; 90.9% were aware of BSE. A high level of knowledge on BSE was found in 54.5% of the students. Knowledge was significantly higher in tertiary than secondary school students (p=0.002). 24.1% of the students thought BSE could be performed anytime; however only 8.1% of the students performed BSE monthly as recommended, whilst 41.8% had never practiced. Of these, more secondary students had never practiced BSE as compared to the tertiary students. 22.3% indicated they would wait for a change in a detected breast lump before seeking medical attention. 96.3% of the participants agree BSE is a good practice which must be encouraged. Conclusion Teaching of BSE should be intensified beginning at the high school level, emphasizing practice and its benefits for early detection of breast cancer.

Practice and Barriers toward Breast Self-Examination among Palestinian Women in Gaza City, Palestine

“…Similar to previous studies [9,30], we found that most of the participants had no family history of BC or previous exposure to breast disease. Although a first-line family history of BC is widely known as a strong predisposing factor [31], a growing body of evidence suggests that environmental factors [32] and lifestyle [33] are equally critical.…”

Breast self-examination practice and its determinants among women in Ethiopia: A systematic review and meta-analysis

“…In this review, women with non-formal education were less likely to practice breast self-examination than those who had a higher level of education. This finding is supported by other studies conducted in Nigeria [ 115 , 135 , 136 ], Ghana [ 83 , 90 ], Indonesia [ 10 ], Iran [ 94 , 137 ], Beirut [ 98 ] and Vietnam [ 88 ]. This could be explained by the fact the more educated women may probably have be exposed to different health awareness information.…”

Self-Efficacy and Perceived Barriers as Determinants of Breast Self-Examination Among Female Nonmedical Students of the University of Ghana

“…The low level of monthly BSE among female students has also been reported by studies both in Ghana and other parts of Africa. 11,30,31 Indeed, the independent samples t test in this study indicated that those who had ever performed BSE had higher knowledge of breast cancer (M ¼ 6.722) compared with those who had never performed BSE (M ¼ 4.850). They also perceived barriers to performing BSE to be lower (M ¼ 17.900) compared with nonperformers (M ¼ 19.850).…”

“…10 Despite this, some research on BSE indicates that women in developing countries do not perform BSE for a number of reasons which include limited knowledge of the disease and a lack of skill to perform the exercise. 4,8,[11][12][13] Most respondents in studies undertaken did indicate that they had no idea on what to look for during a BSE and that alone reduced their interest in continuing the exercise. This limitation was interestingly also found among university students.…”