Impact of health education on knowledge and attitude of self-breast examination among female nursing students

Abstract

Background: Breast cancer is the most common cancer among women and a leading cause of death worldwide, including in India. Breast cancer usually shows a slow development rate, and when it is recognized in the early stages, successful treatment results can be achieved. Breast self-examination is a screening option for young women. Health awareness programs on screening and early detection are the cornerstones for reducing the morbidity and mortality resulting from breast cancer. Objective: To assess the impact of health education on knowledge and attitude of self-breast examination among nursing students. Study Design: The present interventional study was conducted between September and October 2019. Setting: This study was done among 79 nursing students of a tertiary care hospital situated in a central district of Uttar Pradesh. Main Outcome Measures: The self-reported pre-designed and structured questionnaire was used. It included three sections: 1. Sociodemographic profile 2. Knowledge regarding self-breast examination (SBE) 3. Attitude regarding self-breast examination (SBE). Knowledge and attitude scores were calculated and divided into the poor, average, and good categories. Results: There were 87.3% of girls had prior knowledge of the self-breast examination, while 12.7% of girls were not aware of the self-breast examination. Post-intervention, there was a significant increase (p<0.05) in their knowledge about self-breast examination. Conclusion and Relevance: Planned teaching intervention had a significant impact on the knowledge and attitude of self-breast examination. The knowledge and attitude were poor at the early stages, but it had increased significantly after the health education intervention.