Awareness, Attitude and Practices Regarding Breast Cancer Screening among Community Women (original) (raw)
JPMA. The Journal of the Pakistan Medical Association, 2018
To document the knowledge and attitudes of women towards breast cancer, breast screening and early detection techniques. This cross-sectional survey was conducted from December 2015 to May 2016 in Karachi and Islamabad, Pakistan, and comprised women aged above 18 years. The survey used breast cancer inventory as a research instrument after piloting and validation. SPSS 20 was used for data analysis. Of the 1,304 respondents, 948(72.7%) were single, 1,082(83%) belonged to the 18-30 age group, 800(61.3%) had Urdu-speaking ethnicity and 794(60.9%) were educated. The prevalence of breast cancer in family was 226(17.33%). Besides, 446(34.2%) had low knowledge regarding the subject, 646(49.5%) appeared welcoming to the idea of breast screening, 1,008(77.3%) indicated their discomfort in discussing the topic, whereas 1,080(82.8%)preferred a female physician. There was a dearth of knowledge regarding breast cancer among the participants..