|
pubmed:otherAbstract |
PIP: The effectiveness of a manual on breast self-examination was assessed in 190 female 11th- and 12th-grade students at a rural school in India's Haryana State. The students (average age, 16.6 years) completed a questionnaire on breast self-examination and related issues before they received copies of the manual and again 3 weeks after manual distribution. The pretested manual was culturally acceptable to both parents and teachers. At baseline, approximately 80% of the students had heard of breast cancer and over half believed it to be curable. Their principal sources of knowledge about breast cancer were television (38%), doctors (10%), friends and relatives (9%), and magazines (8%). On the baseline assessment, 8% of students achieved high scores, 83% obtained medium scores, and 9% had low scores. At retest 3 weeks after manual distribution, 79% achieved high scores and the remaining 21% had medium scores. Although knowledge of breast self-examination improved significantly, awareness of the structure of the breast and the increased risk of breast cancer in unmarried, childless women did not improve. A manual such as this can be used to educate young women about breast cancer prevention wherever there is a shortage of personnel trained to provide health education.
|
