Knowledge Assessment on Breast Cancer and Breast Self - Examination Practice among Female University Students in Kedah, Malaysia

Abstract

Sireesha Paruchuri, Sharon Sim, Ganesh Pandian Balasubramanian, Sam Aaseer Thamby, Ng Yen Ping.

Objective: To review the knowledge on breast cancer (BC), breast self-examination (BSE) and clinical breast examination (CBE) practices among female university students in a private University, Malaysia.
Methodology: This is a cross-sectional study conducted in a private university teaching medical and healthcare courses in Malaysia. Simple random sampling method was used. A structured questionnaire consisting of 4 sections was used for data collection. Data obtained were coded and SPSS Statistics (version 25) was used for analysis. Categorical data were presented as frequency and percentage whereas chi-square test was used to find the association between two different categorical variables.
Results: A total of n=309 responses were collected from female students in a private university in Malaysia. The mean age of the respondents was 20.58 years (SD = 1.479, range = 19 - 30). One tenth of the respondents had family history of breast cancer [32 (10.4%)]. 304 students (98.4%) have heard of breast cancer. The study revealed media as the major source of information on breast cancer. 276 respondents (89.3%) have heard of BSE. 72.5% of respondents did not practice BSE. 291 (94.2%) respondents think that BSE is a useful tool to detect breast cancer. 85.8% of the respondents knew that BSE is performed by the individual. More than half of the students [193 (62.5%)] have not been taught on how to do BSE. Only [116 (37.5%)] of the respondents correctly stated that BSE should be performed monthly. 194 respondents (62.8%) have heard of CBE. Majority wrongly identified that CBE is done by using mammography [209 (67.6%)] and ultrasound [125 (40.5%)]. Only 13.6% of respondents identified that CBE is done by hand. There was significant association between education field and awareness of CBE.
Conclusion: Most of the respondents are mindful of the existence of breast cancer and BSE but majority did not practice BSE as a routine. besides, they have lack of awareness and practice of CBE.

Most Viewed Articles
  • Dental Development between Assisted Reproductive Therapy (Art) and Natural Conceived Children: A Comparative Pilot Study Norzaiti Mohd Kenali, Naimah Hasanah Mohd Fathil, Norbasyirah Bohari, Ahmad Faisal Ismail, Roszaman Ramli SRP. 2020; 11(1): 01-06 » doi: 10.5530/srp.2020.1.01
  • Psychometric properties of the World Health Organization Quality of life instrument, short form: Validity in the Vietnamese healthcare context Trung Quang Vo*, Bao Tran Thuy Tran, Ngan Thuy Nguyen, Tram ThiHuyen Nguyen, Thuy Phan Chung Tran SRP. 2020; 11(1): 14-22 » doi: 10.5530/srp.2019.1.3
  • A Review of Pharmacoeconomics: the key to “Healthcare for All” Hasamnis AA, Patil SS, Shaik Imam, Narendiran K SRP. 2019; 10(1): s40-s42 » doi: 10.5530/srp.2019.1s.21
  • Deuterium Depleted Water as an Adjuvant in Treatment of Cancer Anton Syroeshkin, Olga Levitskaya, Elena Uspenskaya, Tatiana Pleteneva, Daria Romaykina, Daria Ermakova SRP. 2019; 10(1): 112-117 » doi: 10.5530/srp.2019.1.19
Most Downloaded
  • Dental Development between Assisted Reproductive Therapy (Art) and Natural Conceived Children: A Comparative Pilot Study Norzaiti Mohd Kenali, Naimah Hasanah Mohd Fathil, Norbasyirah Bohari, Ahmad Faisal Ismail, Roszaman Ramli SRP. 2020; 11(1): 01-06 » doi: 10.5530/srp.2020.1.01
  • Manilkara zapota (L.) Royen Fruit Peel: A Phytochemical and Pharmacological Review Karle Pravin P, Dhawale Shashikant C SRP. 2019; 10(1): 11-14 » doi: 0.5530/srp.2019.1.2
  • Pharmacognostic and Phytopharmacological Overview on Bombax ceiba Pankaj Haribhau Chaudhary, Mukund Ganeshrao Tawar SRP. 2019; 10(1): 20-25 » doi: 10.5530/srp.2019.1.4
  • A Review of Pharmacoeconomics: the key to “Healthcare for All” Hasamnis AA, Patil SS, Shaik Imam, Narendiran K SRP. 2019; 10(1): s40-s42 » doi: 10.5530/srp.2019.1s.21
  • A Prospective Review on Phyto-Pharmacological Aspects of Andrographis paniculata Govindraj Akilandeswari, Arumugam Vijaya Anand, Palanisamy Sampathkumar, Puthamohan Vinayaga Moorthi, Basavaraju Preethi SRP. 2019; 10(1): 15-19 » doi: 10.5530/srp.2019.1.3