Epidemiological Evaluation of Breast Cancer Awareness among Medical, Paramedical and General Population – A Hospital Based Questionnaire Survey

To investigate the knowledge of breast cancer among medical, paramedical and general population of women participants. A prospective observational questionnaire survey was carried out in a tertiary care teaching hospital in northern Karnataka for a period of six months with220 participants. Interviewer administered questionnaire was used. Data obtained was analysed using descriptive statistics. Out of 220 women, 31.36% were medical, 20.92% paramedical and 47.72% general. Almost, 94.20% of medical participants believed breast cancer as inherited. Notably, general group considered trauma(74.28%) and diet (73.33%) as major risk factors. Majority of medical and paramedical women thought lump in the breast as the initial sign of Breast Cancer. Awareness regarding mammography and biopsy in general population was 64.76% and 52.38% respectively. Moreover, 95.5% of medical women and all of the paramedical women thought that chemical / radiotherapy was the best treatment. Breast cancer knowledge and awareness was less among the general women. There is a need of developing effective interventional programs to educate women about breast cancer. Keywords: Awareness, Breast Cancer, Knowledge, Risk factors.

Práticas Integrativas e Complementares no Câncer de Mama: Conhecimentos e habilidades dos enfermeiros na Atenção Básica / Integrative and Complementary Practices in Breast Cancer: Knowledge and Skills of Nurses in Primary Care

Resumo: As Práticas Integrativas e Complementares são tratamentos terapêuticos embasados em conhecimentos tradicionais, com objetivo de prevenir vários tipos de doenças. O câncer de mama, é o perfil de doença oncológica que mais acomete o público feminino, e tem como resultado a formação de um tumor na mama feminina, no entanto, pode acontecer no homem também, porém, nas mulheres sua incidência é maior. O estudo tem como objetivo conhecer o uso e habilidades dos participantes do estudo sobre práticas integrativas e complementares no tratamento do câncer de mama. A pesquisa trata-se de um estudo de campo, exploratória, descritiva, com abordagem qualitativa. Foi ealizada na cidade Icó - Ce na Estratégia Saúde da Família. Os dados foram coletados através de uma entrevista semiestruturada com 06 Enfermeiros, seguindo o critério de saturação das respostas, no período de dezembro de 2020, após aprovação do Comitê de Ética e Pesquisa, sendo aprovado sob o parecer de número 4.385.611. Os dados foram agrupados, organizados e apresentados em forma de tabela. Foram elaboradas as seguintes categorias: O uso das práticas integrativas como complementares no tratamento do câncer de mama e A opinião sobre a utilização das práticas integrativas pelo os pacientes com câncer de mama. Dessa forma, o estudo propõe que possa haver pesquisas com mais profissionais para a melhor compressão sobre a relação entre práticas integrativas com o câncer e outras patologias.

Breast Cancer Knowledge and Mammography Uptake among Women Aged 40 Years and Above in Calabar Municipality, Nigeria

Background: Breast cancer is the commonest cancer among women globally. Early screening remains a critical approach to reducing morbidity and mortality. Mammography, one of such screening tools, is vital in improving outcomes and survival. However, poor knowledge and ignorance have been touted as major barriers to health services uptake in Low/Middle-income countries. This study therefore determined breast cancer knowledge and mammography uptake among women aged ≥40 years in Calabar Municipality. Methods: A cross-sectional study design was used to elicit information from 365 women that were randomly selected using a semi-structured questionnaire. Data analysis was carried out using SPSS version 20. The results were descriptively presented by frequencies and percentages. Pearson Chi-Square (ꭓ2) analysis was performed to detect the association between variables at 5% level of significance (p-value of ≤ 0.05). Results: Majority of the 365 study participants 121 (33.3%) were aged between 40 – 44 years and had attained tertiary level of education 231 (63.2%). Most of the respondents had low knowledge score 214 (58.6%) of breast cancer and mammography. Only 36 (9.9%) of the respondents have had mammography out of which most 22 (61.0%) used it only once. Knowledge level of breast cancer and mammography was statistically significantly associated with uptake (p = .00001). Conversely knowledge of breast cancer and mammography was not statistically significantly associated with educational attainment (p = .54). Conclusions: Knowledge level of breast cancer and uptake of mammography among women aged ≥40 in Calabar Municipality was very poor. The need to increase awareness about breast cancer and breast cancer screening are highly advocated.

Knowledge And Awareness Of Breast Cancer And Mammography Among Women In Klang, Selangor.

Breast cancer (BC) is considered as one of the most common cancers among women and almost 2.1 million women are diagnosed with it each year around the world. The high mortality rate by breast cancer is mainly because of the late diagnosis of breast cancer which is because of the lack of awareness and knowledge about breast cancer itself and its screening methods among women. The gradually increasing mortality rate can be decreased by early detection of breast cancer. A validated questionnaire was adopted from a similar study that was done in Shah Alam, Selangor. The questionnaire consists of three sections namely sociodemographic status, knowledge about breast cancer and awareness of mammography. Most of the respondents (84.1%) stated that breast cancer is the most common cancer in Malaysia. In terms of risk factors, the majority (96.2%) of the respondents stated that genetic and family history is a risk of breast cancer while only 3.8% of them did not. 15 respondents received knowledge scores of which are less than 8 (very poor), 46 respondents have obtained scores from 8 to 11 (poor), 56 respondents have obtained scores from 12 to 16 (moderate) and 15 respondents have obtained scores from 17 to 20 (good). None of the respondents obtained scores of more than 20 (very good). This study shows that the respondents have very poor to moderate level of breast cancer knowledge. Mammography awareness was acceptable among the respondents as more than half of them knew about it.

A Cross-Sectional Study on Gender Differences and Influence of Social Media Engagement on Breast Cancer Knowledge among Delhi-NCR Population in India

Breast cancer is leading cause of death worldwide including India. Low awareness is one factor causing late diagnosis and eventually death in developing countries like India. Social media is being used for breast cancer awareness. This study aimed to investigate relationship between social media engagement and breast cancer knowledge and to examine gender differences. Cross sectional study was conducted in Delhi-National Capital Region (NCR). Pearson’s coefficient correlation test was conducted to examine social media engagement and breast cancer knowledge relationship. Independent t test was applied to find gender differences for social media engagement and breast cancer knowledge. Significant moderate correlation was found between social media engagement and breast cancer knowledge (p<.01). A gender difference was found for social media engagement and breast cancer knowledge (p<.05). Result justified that social media engagement is resulting in breast cancer awareness. Results also confirmed difference between male and female regarding social media engagement and breast cancer knowledge.

What women know about breast cancer: In the case of Ethiopia

Background & Aim: Breast cancer is the leading cause of death among women worldwide. Good knowledge of breast cancer enhances timely screening, early detection, and treatment; however, women's knowledge about breast cancer is very low. Thus, this study assesses the level of knowledge regarding breast cancer among women of childbearing age living in Jimma town. Methods & Materials: A community based cross-sectional study was conducted in Jimma town in 2018. Respondents were identified using multistage sampling methods. Data was collected using a standard questionnaire developed by cancer research UK and used in different languages in many parts of the world. Multiple logistic regression analyses were used to identify a variable with a significant association based on OR, with 95%CI and P-value of less than 0.05. Results: Out of 724 respondents, 686 gave their complete responses. The majority of 496 (72.3%) of the respondents were young adults with a mean age of 31, and about 307 (44.8%) of them had completed secondary school (9-12). Only 35% of respondents knew breast cancer; more specifically, 20% had knowledge of risk factors, 45% had knowledge of signs and symptoms, and 39 % had knowledge of screening methods. Maternal age, educational level, marital status, occupation, source of information, and monthly income, and positive family history of breast cancer were significantly associated with women’s breast cancer knowledge. Conclusion: Just over one-third (35%) of women are knowledgeable about breast cancer. However, women's breast cancer knowledge plays a great role in controlling before reaching an advanced stage.