Awareness, Knowledge and Practice of Breast self examination among groups of Female nursing students, Riyadh, Kingdom of Saudi Arabia

Abstract

Breast cancer is the most common cancer spread worldwide, especially; in the Kingdom Saudi Arabia (KSA). It affected Saudi females for the past 12 consecutive years. Furthermore, it incidences increase in many countries.Breast cancer is a single leading cause of cancer death for women between 20 to 59 years of age. Due to this, it is posing a major public health concern. The study aimed to assess awareness, knowledge and practice of nursing students regarding breast self examination (BSE) and evaluate the effect of one day workshop on student's performance level. A quasi experimental design was utilized in this study. A convenient sample of 50 students was chosen from college of nursing. Data was collected through structured questionnaire sheet. A pre-test performance technique established. Followed by,a lecturer of video training about BSE technique. Then, the sample was divided into 5 groups (each group 10 students) joined to the researchers to train them on BSE steps by using the Silicone Breast Model. Immediate and 3months post test were used to evaluate students manual skills of BSE technique on The Silicone Breast Model. The study revealed that, more than half of the total sample of the students had previous knowledge regarding BSE from their college curricula and seventy percent of the total sample did not practice BSE before. A significant correlation was found within pre, immediate and one month post in relation to all BSE steps, except that step, place pillow under shoulder. There is no significant relation between pre and immediate post test (p= .0026).The post-test results showed progress in overall performance, immediate and after 3 month.