Breast cancer screening practices amongst female tertiary health worker in Nnewi.

BACKGROUND: Breast cancer in Nigeria and other developing countries is characterized by late presentation and poor outcome due to ignorance, superstition, self-denial, fear of mastectomy, and unavailability of treatment facilities. The mortality of breast cancer in Western world is decreasing due to early detection and better management.

OBJECTIVE: This study aims at accessing the knowledge, attitude, and practice of breast cancer screening among female tertiary health workers.

MATERIALS AND METHODS: A cross-sectional descriptive study carried out using a structured, pretested, self-administered questionnaire to assess the knowledge, attitudes, and practice of breast cancer and screening methods among female health workers.

RESULTS: The mean age of respondents was 31.70 ± 7.62 years. The level of awareness of breast cancer screening methods was high: 158 (98.75%), 127 (79.4%), and 144 (90.0%) for breast self-examination (BSE), clinical breast examination (CBE), and mammography, respectively. However, only 47 (35.9%), 36 (22.5%), and 3 (1.9%) correctly practiced BSE, CBE, and mammography, respectively. The level of education and occupation showed significant correlations with the knowledge and practice of breast cancer screening methods.

CONCLUSION: Breast cancer screening still needs to be promoted to improve the attitude and practice among both health workers and general population.