Department of Physician Assistantship, School of Medicine, University of Health and Allied Sciences, Ho, Ghana.
Department of Psychological Medicine and Mental Health, School of Medicine, University of Health and Allied Sciences, Ho, Ghana.
PLoS One. 2021 Jun 24;16(6):e0253373. doi: 10.1371/journal.pone.0253373. eCollection 2021.
Like many other women in the developing world, the practice of breast cancer screening among Ghanaian women is unsatisfactory. As a result, many cases are diagnosed at advanced stages leading to poor outcomes including mortalities. An understanding of the awareness and predictors of breast examination is an important first step that may guide the design of interventions aimed at raising awareness across the general population. This study aimed to explore the awareness, risk factors, and self-reported screening practices of breast cancer among female undergraduate students at the University of Health and Allied Sciences.
This cross-sectional study was conducted among 385 female undergraduate students using a pre-tested questionnaire. Data were analysed using Stata Version 13.1 and presented using descriptive and inferential statistics comprising frequency, percentage, chi-square, and binary logistic regression. Odds ratios and 95% confidence intervals were computed to quantify the association between regular Breast-Self Examination (BSE) and socio-demographic characteristics of respondents.
Seventy-three per cent of the students were aware of breast cancer, with social media being the most important source of information (64.4%). The prevalence of breast cancer risk factors varied from 1% of having a personal history of breast cancer to 14.3% for positive family history of breast cancer. Current use of oral pills/injectable contraceptives was confirmed by 13.2% of participants; 20% were current alcohol users and10.1% were physically inactive. Regarding breast examination, 42.6% performed BSE; 10.1% had Clinical Breast Examination (CBE), while 2.3% had undergone mammography in the three years preceding the study. Women who did not believe to be susceptible to breast cancer (AOR: 0.04; 95%CI: 0.02-0.09) and those who did not know their risk status (AOR: 0.02; 95%CI: 0.005-0.57) were less likely to perform regular BSE compared to those who displayed pessimism. Further, women with no religious affiliation had 0.11 (95%CI: 0.02-0.55) odds of examining their breast regularly compared to Christians.
This study demonstrated moderate awareness of the modalities of breast cancer screening and the risk factors of breast cancer among the students. However, there exists a gap between awareness and practice of breast cancer screening, which was influenced by optimism in breast cancer risk perception and religion. Awareness campaigns and education should be intensified in the University to bridge this gap.
与许多发展中国家的其他女性一样，加纳女性的乳腺癌筛查实践并不令人满意。结果，许多病例在晚期被诊断出来，导致预后不良，包括死亡。了解乳腺癌检查的意识和预测因素是重要的第一步，可能指导旨在提高普通人群意识的干预措施的设计。本研究旨在探讨卫生与健康科学大学女大学生对乳腺癌的认识、危险因素和自我报告的筛查情况。
本横断面研究对 385 名女大学生使用预测试问卷进行了调查。数据使用 Stata 版本 13.1 进行分析，并使用描述性和推断性统计，包括频率、百分比、卡方和二元逻辑回归进行呈现。计算比值比和 95%置信区间来量化定期乳房自我检查（BSE）与受访者社会人口统计学特征之间的关联。
73%的学生了解乳腺癌，社交媒体是最重要的信息来源（64.4%）。乳腺癌危险因素的流行率从个人乳腺癌病史的 1%到乳腺癌家族史阳性的 14.3%不等。参与者中有 13.2%目前使用口服避孕药/注射避孕药；20%为当前饮酒者，10.1%为身体不活动者。关于乳房检查，42.6%进行了 BSE；10.1%进行了临床乳房检查（CBE），而 2.3%在研究前三年进行了乳房 X 光检查。与表现出悲观态度的女性相比，认为自己不易患乳腺癌的女性（AOR：0.04；95%CI：0.02-0.09）和不知道自己风险状况的女性（AOR：0.02；95%CI：0.005-0.57）不太可能定期进行 BSE。此外，与基督徒相比，没有宗教信仰的女性定期检查乳房的几率为 0.11（95%CI：0.02-0.55）。
本研究表明，学生对乳腺癌筛查方式和乳腺癌危险因素的认识处于中等水平。然而，乳腺癌筛查的意识和实践之间存在差距，这受到对乳腺癌风险感知的乐观态度和宗教的影响。应在大学加强宣传和教育，以缩小这一差距。
