| dc.description.abstract | Introduction: Breast cancer is reported to be the most common cancer among women. In Nairobi, Kenya, the current breast cancer incidence rate is 33.5%. Early detectiqn by breast selfexamination (BSE) decreases the disease severity and increase the survival rate. The purpose of this study was to establish the current BSE practice for early detection of breast cancer among women of reproductive age seeking family planning services at Mbagathi district hospital,
Nairobi, Kenya.
Methodology: A descriptive cross-sectional survey, that combined both quantitative and qualitative approaches, was adopted. Researcher-administered questionnaire was used to obtain quantitative data from 132 respondents who were randomly selected from the study population. An interview guide was used to obtain qualitative data from three key informants who were purposely selected from health professionals at MDH. The information obtained included demographic characteristics of the respondents, breast cancer awareness, BSE prevalence, barriers, knowledge and attitude. Descriptive and inferential data analysis was done using Statistical Package for Social Science (version 20). Qualitative data was analyzed through thematic content analysis using NVivo 9.0 software. All ethical principles were observed. The study took approximately sixteen weeks.
Findings: BSE preference was low (40.9%) among the women. Important barriers identified were lack of knowledge on BSE (35.9%) and forgetfulness (35.6%). Few respondents (37.9%) had adequate knowledge of BSE technique. Association of BSE knowledge and BSE performance was statistically significant (chi=32.18, p=<O.OOl). Awareness of breast cancer among the women was high (77.3%). Association of breast cancer awareness and BSE performance was statistically significant (p=0.008). Women had positive attitude towards BSE.
Conclusion/recommendation: BSE practice was low and knowledge on BSE technique was inadequate among the respondents at the time of the study. Thus there is need for a greater focused BSE education program at health facility and community levels to scale up BSE practice for early detection of breast cancer. | en_US |
