The effect of a smartphone application on women’s performance and health beliefs about breast self-examination: a quasi-experimental study

Abstract

Background Breast Self-Examination (BSE) is a simple and inexpensive method for early diagnosis of breast cancer. This study aimed to determine the effect of a smartphone application on women’s performance and health beliefs regarding BSE. Methods In this quasi-experimental study, 150 women referring to therapeutic clinics in Jahrom, Iran from December 2019 to May 2020 were randomly assigned to an intervention or a control group. The intervention group participants had access to a smartphone application including BSE reminder, training, alarm, and feedback to the therapist. The application also contained educational movies and self-assessment. The study data were collected using Champion’s Health Belief Model Scale and BSE information record form before and six months after the intervention. Then, the data were entered into the SPSS 21 software and were analyzed using descriptive statistics, paired t-test, independent t-test, Chi-square, ANCOVA, Mann–Whitney, and Wilcoxon tests. Results After the intervention, the largest number of BSEs was four times among 60% of the participants in the intervention group and once among 24% of the participants in the control group during four months (p = 0.001). After the intervention, the mean differences of the scores of perceived susceptibility (1.03 ± 2.65 vs. 0.01 ± 0.42, p = 0.001), BSE barriers (2.80 ± 5.32 vs. 0.04 ± 1.43, p = 0.001), self-efficacy (10.75 ± 7.63 vs. − 2.75 ± 2.44, p = 0.001), and health motivation (2.77 ± 3.70 vs. − 0.29 ± 0.63, p = 0.001) were significantly higher in the intervention group compared to the control group. However, no significant difference was observed between the two groups with regard to perceived severity and BSE benefits after the intervention. Conclusions Access to the smartphone application enhanced the participants’ performance and health beliefs regarding BSE in the areas of perceived susceptibility, self-efficacy, and health motivation. Therefore, we recommend using the same smartphone application to improve women’s performance and health beliefs regarding BSE.

Breast awareness mobile apps for health education and promotion for breast cancer

“…This study highlights the importance of mobile apps based on how people's health and well-being can be improved via monitoring ( 15 ). This result matches those observed in a study in Iran that implemented the smartphone app, which improved BSE practice and even reported abnormal findings among participants by mass palpation or visually inspected nipple retraction ( 16 ). According to the Health Belief Model (HBM), an individual's opinion that she is vulnerable to BC, the severity of BC, and the benefits, as well as a barrier to preventative action such as doing the BSE and screening at the hospital, all influence health-seeking behavior toward BC prevention ( 6 ).…”

“…Meanwhile, another study promotes the app's credibility by enabling direct communication with the therapist ( 16 ). Furthermore, the reminder feature notifications as cues in the app improve user engagement and BSE routine in a time duration set according to the user's menstrual cycle ( 18 ).…”

The effects of continuous care model using a smartphone application on adherence to treatment and self-efficacy among patients with multiple sclerosis

“…They came to the conclusion that the telephone-delivered intervention was effective in engaging patients in care and improving their disabilities [ 38 ]. Another study also revealed that having access to smartphone apps enhanced women’s performance, self-efficacy, and health beliefs in breast self-examination [ 39 ]. Evidence has shown that during the COVID-19 outbreak, smartphones and apps have played a key role in several aspects of healthcare delivery and clinical practice among healthcare professionals [ 40 , 41 ].…”

Psychosocial Experiences of Older Women in the Management of Urinary Incontinence: A Qualitative Study

“…Evidence has demonstrated that older women handle these hurdles depending on their social and cultural backgrounds. In other words, each disease is caused, experienced, and managed differently by different people based on the social and cultural backgrounds of the society they live in van den Muijsenbergh and Lagro-Janssen (2006) , Andersson et al (2008) , Hayder and Schnepp (2010) , Gjerde (2012) , Shirazi et al (2014) , Özkan et al (2015) , Heidari et al (2021) , Shakery et al (2021) . Thus, to determine the psychosocial effects of urinary incontinence on older women, their sociocultural backgrounds should be considered ( Sinclair and Ramsay, 2011 ; Laganà et al, 2014 ; Alshammari et al, 2020 ).…”