SURVEY OF KNOWLEDGE, WORRY AND SCREENING BEHAVIOR TOWARDS BREAST CANCER AMONG FEMALE STUDENTS OF URMIA UNIVERSITY OF MEDICAL SCIENCES, IN 2014

Breast cancer is the most common cancer among women in developed and
developing countries. Its early and rapid detect by screening methods can increase women’s survival
rate. Among breast cancer screening techniques, breast self-examination is the simplest, the most
applicable and the least expensive screening method. The purpose of this study was to examine female
students’ knowledge, worry and screening behavior toward breast cancer in Urmia University of
Medical Sciences, 2014.
Materials & methods: This cross–sectional study was conducted on 334 eligible and female students
of Urmia University of Medical Sciences, in 2014. To collect data, a valid and reliable questionnaire
was utilized. The questionnaire included demographic information, the students’ knowledge and the
worry toward breast cancer. The study data were analyzed using descriptive statistics (frequency, mean
and standard deviation) and inferential statistics (independent t-test, ANOVA and chi-square test).
Results: The findings suggested that more than half of the cases (60.2%) were Turk concerning their
ethnic, and about 65.3 of the subjects were studying in undergraduate level, and about 10% of students
were reported to have a family history of cancer. Average score students' awareness about breast cancer
was a little more than average total score (23.13 ±4/77). But the average score of concerns about breast
cancer was less than the average total score (6.77±2.56). Only 24.6% of the study samples have done
the breast self-examination behavior. Awareness and breast self-examination behavior had a significant
relationship with variables such as Grade Point Average, level of education and their academic year (P
<0.05). A significant relationship was also observed between BSE and knowledge of students (P <0.05).
Discussion: This study shows that health knowledge, health worry and breast self-examination behavior
was inadequate, and the students were far from optimal situation. Therefore, it is essential that health
educators and providers of health services design and implement educational programs and campaigns
for different groups of women, to improve their KAP (knowledge, attitude and practice) regarding breast
cancer