The role of psychosocial variables in breast self‐examination practice: Results from focus group discussions in Surabaya, Indonesia

Abstract

Introduction: Breast cancer is a global life-threatening disease. Breast selfexamination (BSE) followed by timely diagnosis and treatment is a viable screening method for populations with limited health care access such as Indonesia.Knowledge of the beliefs underlying BSE could benefit the development of future health education efforts to promote BSE and breast cancer awareness among Indonesian women, with the ultimate aim to achieve early detection and promote long-term survivals. The purpose of this study was to explore the underlying beliefs of BSE among women in Surabaya, Indonesia in accordance with the reasoned action approach (RAA) framework. Moreover, we investigated what these women considered an effective approach to improve breast awareness and promote BSE in their social networks. Method:The participants included 62 women aged 18-55 (M = 32,9) in Surabaya, Indonesia who were divided into nine focus groups. Directed content analysis was employed to analyze the data.Results: Six psychosocial determinants of performing BSE emerged from the analysis: knowledge, attitude and beliefs, risk perception, norms, perceived behavior control, and intention. Furthermore, the participants identified face-to-face meetings with visual media and healthcare professionals as effective channels to enhance breast awareness. Conclusion:This study sheds light on the application of the RAA for BSE, and reveals the importance of face-to-face meetings involving healthcare professionals and women's social networks for breast education. K E Y W O R D Sbreast cancer, breast self-examination, early detection of cancer, good health and wellbeing, health behavior, mass screening, psycho-oncology, social determinants of healthThis is an open access article under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial License, which permits use, distribution and reproduction in any medium, provided the original work is properly cited and is not used for commercial purposes.

Conocimientos, actitudes y prácticas sobre el autoexamen de mamas en mujeres de una zona rural

“…14 En cuanto a las actitudes sobre el autoexamen de mamas, la mayoría refirieron estar de acuerdo en que es bueno realizarlo, ayuda a detectar el cáncer en sus inicios, tiene muchos beneficios para la salud, hallazgos que concuerda al de otras investigaciones. 9,15,16 Además, la mayoría de las mujeres están de acuerdo en que les preocupa la aparición de bultos y sentir miedo de realizarlo. Este resultado coincide al encontrado en Ecuador 15 y al hallazgo de Indonesia, 16 donde las mujeres manifestaron miedo a autoexaminarse y descubrir algún bulto.…”

“…9,15,16 Además, la mayoría de las mujeres están de acuerdo en que les preocupa la aparición de bultos y sentir miedo de realizarlo. Este resultado coincide al encontrado en Ecuador 15 y al hallazgo de Indonesia, 16 donde las mujeres manifestaron miedo a autoexaminarse y descubrir algún bulto. En consecuencia, estas actitudes son significativas ante la incidencia del carcinoma de mama en mujeres jóvenes incluso cuando se conoce que en estos grupos etarios son más vulnerables y es el principal origen de muerte por cáncer.…”

“…Este resultado es similar con otro estudio en Indonesia. 16 Las mujeres del estudio viven en zonas rurales y es probable que a pesar que tienen seguro subsidiado por el Estado, no asisten a sus chequeos y por ello no reciben la educación del personal de salud, unido a algunas barreras culturales como el temor o la vergüenza de mostrar su cuerpo. Los factores para no realizar el AEM periódico fueron vivir en áreas rurales, tener un bajo nivel de educación, sin antecedentes familiares de cáncer de mama y no haber recibido capacitación del personal de salud.…”

What is the uptake rate of breast self-examination in Iranian women? Estimation based on systematic review and meta-analysis

“…For example, the findings of a study in Iran showed that perceived barriers, knowledge and level of education were related to BSE. The results of Dewi et al [ 59 ] study in Surabaya indicated that breast cancer knowledge and attitudes toward BSE were associated with performing BSE. Also, perceived benefits and barriers and subjective norms were significantly related to the intention and doing of BSE.…”

Social Media Role and Its Impact on Public Health: A Narrative Review

“…The included research showed that various social media outlets could raise the degree of women's health promotion [ 25 ], awareness of menstrual hygiene, understanding of breast cancer awareness [ 26 ], breastfeeding techniques [ 27 ], and adherence, self-perception and promotion of oral health [ 28 , 29 ], significant use of antibiotics [ 30 ], consistency with exercise, sexual health promotion [ 31 ], road safety awareness [ 32 ], smoking cessation, adverse drug reaction reporting [ 33 ], and many more in a row.…”