Knowledge of breast cancer and its risk factors among Al-Quds university students in Palestine

Abstract

Background: Cancer is a major public health problem globally. The incidence of cancer is escalating rapidly in many low- and middle-income countries like Palestine due to the epidemiological transition. This could be due to lack of awareness, knowledge and beliefs about breast cancer and its management among females. Aims and objectives was to determine knowledge of breast cancer risk factors, symptoms and early detection methods among Al-Quds University female students.Methods: A descriptive cross-sectional study conducted over a period of 6 months in Al-Quds University. Study population was 332 female university students. Data was collected by using self-administered questionnaire.Results: The most widely known risk factors by the students were old age 62.7%, followed by obesity 44% and never being pregnant 30.7%. Approximately half of the students (48.8%) identified breast lump as a symptom for breast cancer. However, non lump symptoms were less known and less than half were aware of other warning signs. Only 48.5 % of students identified correctly the appropriate time to perform breast self examination.Conclusions: The findings of this study showed a low level of knowledge on breast cancer risk factors, early warning signs and BSE among female university students. Therefore, effective educational programs are required to improve the knowledge level of university students regarding breast cancer and related practices.

Breast cancer knowledge and practice of breast self‐examination among Palestinian female, West Bank: A cross‐sectional study

“…Moreover, the outcome isn't consistent with another study, which is done in Al-Quds university -Palestine for non-health related disciplines which showed there is poor knowledge about BC risk factor, signs risk, and prognosis of the disease. 23 This study showed good knowledge about early detection techniques, mammography, U/S, and CBE, which is consistent with previous studies. However they have poor practice for mammogram to detect BC.…”

“…The results of our study showed that the students have a great knowledge about the signs risk factors and bad effect of BC on their lives. Moreover, the outcome isn't consistent with another study, which is done in Al‐Quds university ‐Palestine for non‐health related disciplines which showed there is poor knowledge about BC risk factor, signs risk, and prognosis of the disease 23 . This study showed good knowledge about early detection techniques, mammography, U/S, and CBE, which is consistent with previous studies.…”

Breast Cancer Knowledge and Practice of Breast Self-Examination among Female University Students, Gaza

“…Another study recently conducted in Gaza and published showed poor recognition of cancer symptoms in general among adolescents and adult participants; however, their knowledge about cancer risk factors is good [24]. Additionally, the result is not in line with another study conducted in the Al-Quds University, Palestine, which included students from non-health-related disciplines showed poor identification of risk factors, signs, and symptoms of BC [25]. e difference in the findings of the current study and the previous studies is related to the different target populations as our participants' knowledge increased mainly because of their learning curriculum in the Faculty of AMS, and this supports another finding in this study that the most common sources of their information were derived from their university studies.…”

“…Another study is a master thesis study conducted in Gaza to assess the knowledge and practice BSE among nurses working at the primary healthcare centers, which showed a good knowledge about BC early detection methods, CBE, and mammography; however, their mammography practices were low [26]. In addition, [25] revealed a good knowledge about early detection methods of BC such as mammography and U/S. e majority of participants heard about BSE and recognized that it is useful in early detection of BC disease.…”

“…Despite the students' awareness about BSE, the majority of them do not practice BSE regularly as only 31.4% do so, and the result is consistent with previous studies that showed poor practice of BSE which is between 17% and 30% among their participants [ 14 , 21 – 23 , 27 ]. About 70% of the participants know the time to conduct BSE, and this figure is much higher than that of university students in other countries, 16.5% among Egyptian students [ 20 ], 42.8% among Emirate students [ 14 ], and 48.5% among Palestinian students in the west bank [ 25 ]. This figure could be interpreted by their being study in paramedical sciences.…”