Breast cancer screening practices amongst female tertiary health worker in Nnewi.

BACKGROUND

Breast cancer in Nigeria and other developing countries is characterized by late presentation and poor outcome due to ignorance, superstition, self-denial, fear of mastectomy, and unavailability of treatment facilities. The mortality of breast cancer in Western world is decreasing due to early detection and better management.

OBJECTIVE

This study aims at accessing the knowledge, attitude, and practice of breast cancer screening among female tertiary health workers.

MATERIALS AND

METHODS

A cross-sectional descriptive study carried out using a structured, pretested, self-administered questionnaire to assess the knowledge, attitudes, and practice of breast cancer and screening methods among female health workers.

RESULTS

The mean age of respondents was 31.70 ± 7.62 years. The level of awareness of breast cancer screening methods was high: 158 (98.75%), 127 (79.4%), and 144 (90.0%) for breast self-examination (BSE), clinical breast examination (CBE), and mammography, respectively. However, only 47 (35.9%), 36 (22.5%), and 3 (1.9%) correctly practiced BSE, CBE, and mammography, respectively. The level of education and occupation showed significant correlations with the knowledge and practice of breast cancer screening methods.

CONCLUSION

Breast cancer screening still needs to be promoted to improve the attitude and practice among both health workers and general population.