Beshir Semira A, Hanipah Monalina A
Department of Clinical Pharmacy, Faculty of Pharmacy, Cyberjaya University College of Medical Sciences, Selangor, Malaysia.
Asian Pac J Cancer Prev. 2012;13(9):4427-30. doi: 10.7314/apjcp.2012.13.9.4427.
Breast cancer is the most common cancer and the leading cause of cancer death among women in Malaysia. Despite the campaigns undertaken to raise the awareness of the public regarding breast cancer, breast cancer screening rates are still low in the country. The community pharmacist, as one of the most accessible healthcare practitioners, could play a role in the provision of breast cancer health promotion services to the community. However, there are no documented data regarding the community pharmacists' involvement in breast cancer related health promotion activities. Hence, this study was conducted to examine self-reported knowledge, practice and perception of community pharmacists on provision of breast cancer health promotion services and to investigate the barriers that limit their involvement. This cross-sectional survey conducted between May to September 2010, included a sample of 35 community pharmacists working in the districts of Hulu Langat and Sepang in state of Selangor. A 22-item validated questionnaire that included both closed and Lickert scale questions was used to interview those pharmacists who gave their informed consent to participate in the study. The data was analysed using SPSS. Only 11.3% of the community pharmacists answered all the questions on the knowledge section correctly. The mean overall knowledge of the community pharmacists on risk factors of breast cancer and screening recommendations is 56%. None of the respondents was currently involved in breast cancer health promotion activities. Lack of time (80%), lack of breast cancer educational materials (77.1%) and lack of training (62.9%) were the top three mentioned barriers. Despite these barriers, 94.3% (33) of the community pharmacists agreed that they should be involved in breast cancer health promotion activities. Hence, there is need to equip community pharmacists with necessary training and knowledge to enable them to contribute their share towards prevention and screening of breast cancer.
乳腺癌是马来西亚女性中最常见的癌症，也是癌症死亡的主要原因。尽管开展了各种活动来提高公众对乳腺癌的认识，但该国的乳腺癌筛查率仍然很低。社区药剂师作为最容易接触到的医疗从业者之一，可以在为社区提供乳腺癌健康促进服务方面发挥作用。然而，目前尚无关于社区药剂师参与乳腺癌相关健康促进活动的记录数据。因此，本研究旨在调查社区药剂师在提供乳腺癌健康促进服务方面的自我报告知识、实践和认知，并调查限制他们参与的障碍。这项横断面调查于2010年5月至9月进行，样本包括在雪兰莪州 Hulu Langat 和 Sepang 地区工作的35名社区药剂师。一份包含封闭式和利克特量表问题的22项有效问卷被用于采访那些同意参与研究的药剂师。数据使用SPSS进行分析。只有11.3%的社区药剂师正确回答了知识部分的所有问题。社区药剂师对乳腺癌风险因素和筛查建议的平均总体知识水平为56%。目前没有受访者参与乳腺癌健康促进活动。时间不足（80%）、缺乏乳腺癌教育材料（77.1%）和缺乏培训（62.9%）是被提及最多的三大障碍。尽管存在这些障碍，94.3%（33名）的社区药剂师同意他们应该参与乳腺癌健康促进活动。因此，有必要为社区药剂师提供必要的培训和知识，使他们能够为乳腺癌的预防和筛查做出贡献。
