Breast cancer awareness and preferences for screening messaging on menstrual hygiene products in Ghana and Tanzania.

BACKGROUND

Menstrual hygiene products (MHPs) may offer a high-reach, frequent, long-lasting yet underutilized channel for health education, particularly in low-resource settings. This study aimed to explore women's breast health awareness (BHA) and their attitudes towards and preferences for BHA messages on MHPs.

METHODS

Women aged 18-49 years in Ghana and Tanzania (n = 438; 216 Ghana, 222 Tanzania), stratified by age and urban/rural setting, completed a questionnaire assessing socio-demographics, BHA, and preferences for BHA messages with MHP. BHA was assessed with an adapted 31-item Breast Cancer Awareness Measure Tool covering 4 domains: breast cancer signs and symptoms, confidence, skills, and behaviour in noticing breast changes, anticipated help-seeking delays, and risk factors. Items were scored on a 10-point scale.

RESULTS

Here we show that overall BHA is slightly higher in Ghana than Tanzania (urban/rural: 6.2/6.4 vs. 5.6/5.3). Awareness is highest for signs and symptoms (median score range hereafter: 5.5-7.8) and lowest for risk factors (2.0-3.8). While women show confidence in noticing breast changes (8.0-10.0) and seeking help (10-10), their skills are insufficient (1.0-5.0) and previous help-seeking behaviours were low (0-0). Women would overwhelmingly (91%) choose MHPs with BHA messages over MHPs without, preferring varied presenting formats, mostly between outside of the package, on individual pad covers, and a leaflet.

CONCLUSIONS

Findings highlight generally low BHA level in Ghana and Tanzania. The strong acceptability of having BHA messages on MHP presents a scalable and sustainable opportunity to improve BHA with the goal of reducing BC incidence and mortality.