Yamamoto Miyuki
Department of Nursing Science, Hirosaki University Graduate School of Health Sciences, Hirosaki, JPN.
Cureus. 2025 Aug 4;17(8):e89378. doi: 10.7759/cureus.89378. eCollection 2025 Aug.
Objective In 2020, breast cancer was the most commonly diagnosed cancer among women in Japan. Its incidence begins to rise in the late twenties and reaches a first peak in the late forties. Therefore, fostering sustainable preventive health behaviors from a younger age is crucial. This study aims to evaluate the effectiveness of an educational awareness program on breast cancer from a long-term perspective by comparing knowledge levels before the intervention, immediately after, and one month following the intervention, with the goal of promoting breast awareness. Methods and materials This was a cross-sectional study conducted at three time points: before the breast cancer educational intervention, immediately after, and one and a half months post-intervention. A self-administered questionnaire was distributed to 82 first-year students enrolled in the Nursing Course at the School of Health Sciences, Hirosaki University, Japan. Data from 55 students (valid response rate: 64.7%) who completed all three surveys were analyzed. The number of respondents at each time point was: 67 students before the intervention (response rate: 81.7%), 72 students immediately after (response rate: 87.8%), and 63 students one and a half months later (response rate: 76.8%). Ultimately, data from the 55 students with no missing values across all three surveys were included in the analysis. The questionnaire covered topics such as breast cancer subtypes, hereditary breast and ovarian cancer (HBOC), cancer staging, peak age of incidence starting at 40, and invasive vs. non-invasive cancer. Results In the question "Which of the following is considered early-stage cancer?", no significant difference was observed among students before the intervention, on the day of the intervention, or immediately after the intervention. Regarding the question "At what age range does the first peak in the incidence of breast cancer occur in women?", scores significantly decreased immediately after the intervention and one and a half months later (p<0.001). Due to the low scores obtained, the present results suggest that a single awareness education session was not sufficient for a thorough understanding of the peak age for the development of breast cancer. Conclusion While the educational awareness program that provided knowledge as a preliminary step towards breast awareness showed some effectiveness immediately after the intervention, the present results indicate that a single session was insufficient for sustaining knowledge over time. Future educational efforts need to emphasize the peak incidence age of 40 years and incorporate repeated sessions in order to enhance the long-term retention of knowledge.
目的 2020年，乳腺癌是日本女性中最常被诊断出的癌症。其发病率在二十多岁后期开始上升，并在四十多岁后期达到第一个峰值。因此，从年轻时就培养可持续的预防健康行为至关重要。本研究旨在通过比较干预前、干预后即刻以及干预后一个月的知识水平，从长期角度评估一项乳腺癌教育宣传项目的效果，以促进乳房健康意识。
方法和材料 这是一项在三个时间点进行的横断面研究：乳腺癌教育干预前、干预后即刻以及干预后一个半月。向日本弘前大学健康科学学院护理专业的82名一年级学生发放了一份自填式问卷。对完成了所有三项调查的55名学生（有效回复率：64.7%）的数据进行了分析。每个时间点的受访者数量分别为：干预前67名学生（回复率：81.7%），干预后即刻72名学生（回复率：87.8%），以及一个半月后63名学生（回复率：76.8%）。最终，将在所有三项调查中均无缺失值的55名学生的数据纳入分析。问卷涵盖了乳腺癌亚型、遗传性乳腺癌和卵巢癌（HBOC）、癌症分期、40岁起的发病高峰年龄以及浸润性癌与非浸润性癌等主题。
结果 在“以下哪项被认为是早期癌症？”这个问题上，干预前、干预当天或干预后即刻的学生之间未观察到显著差异。关于“女性乳腺癌发病率的第一个峰值出现在哪个年龄范围？”这个问题，干预后即刻和一个半月后的得分显著下降（p<0.001）。由于得分较低，目前的结果表明，单次的健康意识教育不足以让人们全面了解乳腺癌发病的高峰年龄。
结论 虽然作为乳房健康意识初步步骤的教育宣传项目在干预后即刻显示出了一定效果，但目前的结果表明，单次课程不足以使知识长期保持。未来的教育工作需要强调40岁的发病高峰年龄，并纳入重复课程，以提高知识的长期留存率。
