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Knowledge, attitude and practice of breast selfexamination among nursing students in Lagos
University Teaching Hospital, Nigeria
1
2,3,4
Breast cancer is the commonest cancer among women in Nigeria and globally. In Nigeria, late
presentations of breast cancer cases have been consistent for three decades. It is therefore, pertinent
to assess the knowledge of breast cancer and its early detection measures. The study was designed to
assess level of knowledge, attitude and practice of breast self-examination (BSE) among nursing
students. This study was a cross-sectional survey amongst all nursing students of Lagos University
Teaching Hospital. Each participant was given a self-administered questionnaire, which was designed
to evaluate information such as socio-demographic data, level of knowledge of breast cancer, the
attitude of the participant toward BSE and practice of BSE. The respondents knowledge of breast
cancer and breast self-examination was high (97.3%); 85.6% knew how to carry out breast selfexamination correctly. Majority, 58.6% obtained their information from television/ radio. The attitude of
respondents to breast self-examination was good, most of the respondents, 98.5% thought breast selfexamination was necessary and 84.3% claimed to have carried out breast self-examination before.
Respondents practice of breast self-examination was also good with 80.2% of the respondents
claiming to carry out breast self-examination regularly. The level of awareness of breast cancer and
breast self-examination was high among nursing students of the Lagos University Teaching Hospital.
Keywords: Knowledge, attitude, practice, breast self-examination (BSE), breast cancer.
INTRODUCTION
Breast cancer is the most common cancer in women and
the second leading cause of death from cancer among
them (Okobia et al., 2006; Taleghani et al., 2006).
The incidence rates are high in developed countries
(Parkin et al., 1999). Studies have shown increased
incidence from African countries where low rates have
previously been reported and an estimated world total
incidence of 1.45 million would be expected by the year
2010 (Agboola et al., 2009). The peak age incidence of
breast cancer in Nigeria is reported to be between 45-50
years, in contrast to Europe and America where it was
Number (%)
21.2
40.7
29.6
8.4
51.1
34.8
4.4
9.6
96.3
3.7
82
16.5
1.5
12.1
87.9
hundred and fifty (150) but only one hundred and thirtyfive (135) was collected and analysed. Table 1 shows the
demographic profile of respondents. Majority of the
respondents, 40.7% were of the 21-22 age groups with
the mean age being 21. Most of the respondents, 96.3%
were single while 3.7% were married. Majority of the
respondents, 51.1% were Yoruba, closely followed by
34.8% who were Igbo. Many of the respondents, 82%
were Christians while the rest were either Muslims
(16.5%) or from other religions (1.5%). Only 12.1% had a
family history of breast cancer, 50% of which was an
aunt. Table 2 shows the respondents knowledge of
breast cancer and breast self-examination. 97.3% of the
respondents were aware of breast cancer and breast
self-examination. 37.1 % of the respondents had gotten
their information from newspapers, 58.6% from television/
radio, 25% from their peer group and 23% from home.
84.8% knew it was common in our environment and
99.3% were aware that it can be detected early. 48.9% of
the respondents were aware that breast self-examination
should be carried out by both male and female and
49.2% picked the age in which one should start breast
self-examination at less than 19 years. 35.6% of the
respondents felt that breast self-examination should be
carried out monthly, followed by 33.3% who felt it should
be carried out daily, 28% felt it should be done weekly
and 3% felt it should be done yearly.
Most of the respondents, 85.6% knew how to carry out
breast self-examination correctly. Table 3 shows the
attitude of respondents to breast self-examination. Most
of the respondents, 98.5% thought breast selfexamination was necessary and 84.3% claimed to have
carried out breast self-examination before. 83.1% of
% of Correct answers
97.3
84.8
99.3
99.3
97.3
23.0
25.0
58.6
37.1
51.1
48.9
49.2
50.8
33.3
28.0
35.6
3.0
10.2
85.6
8.4
% of Correct answers
98.5
84.3
83.1
2.7
4.4
87.5
26.7
10.0
10.0
10.4
20.0
3.3
% of Correct answers
80.2
49.2
50.8
34.8
35.7
17.4
69.0
5.3
25.7
50.0
56.1
28.0
96.0