Breast self-examination practice and associated factors among female healthcare workers in Western Ethiopia 2019: A cross-sectional study
Abstract I. Abstract Objective: Breast cancer is the leading cause of death among reproductive age women worldwide. Regular breast self-examination is one of the most cost-effective methods for early detection of breast cancer. Therefore, this study intended to assess the magnitude of breast self-examination practice and associated factors among female healthcare workers in public health facility in Western Ethiopia. Institutional based cross-sectional study was conducted among 379 female healthcare workers. The study participants were recruited by lottery method. Data were collected from March to April 2019. Data were entered into Epi data version 3.1 and analyzed using SPSS version 25. Bivariate and multiple logistic regressions analysis were done to identify factors significantly associated with the dependent variables. With 95% CI, the level of significance was decided at p-value≤ 0.05 Results: The magnitude of regular breast self-examination practice was 32.6%. After adjusting for possible confounders; educational level, being aware of the risk factors of breast cancer, knowledge towards breast self-examination were independent predictors of regular breast self-examination practice. Regular awareness creation forum on breast self-examination technique, risk factors, and related matters should be facilitated so that all female health care workers will be reminded. Keywords: breast self-examination practice, female health workers,