Awareness, Knowledge and Practice of Breast-Self Examination amongst Female Health Workers in A Nigerian Community

AIM : This study was designed to assess the awareness, knowledge and practice of breast-self examination amongst female health practitioners at Federal Medical Centre, Owo, Ondo State, Nigeria. METHODOLOGY : This study was conducted in the month of February,2008. One hundred health workers practicing in the hospital were selected by simple random sampling and interviewed with the aid of structured questionnaire by the author. Informed consent was obtained from each of the respondents. The information obtained included bio data of the respondents, awareness, knowledge and the practice of breast-self examination. The data obtained was collated and analyzed by SPSS soft ware version 12.0.1. RESULTS: Most respondents (94%) were aware of breast-self examination. Some of them (30%) knew the different methods for screening for breast cancer, however most of them (56%) knew that breast-self examination should be performed monthly. Majority of the respondents (80%) practiced breast-self examination even though only some (50%) practiced it monthly. CONCLUSION: Majority of the respondents were aware of breast-self examination. Knowledge about screening methods for breast cancer was poor. The practice of breast - self examination amongst females should be encouraged. Keywords: Breast, cancer, examination, awareness, knowledge and practice.Sudan Journal of Medical Sciences Vol. 3 (2) 2008: pp. 99-104