Effect of education about breast cancer screening methods among 40-69 ages women

Aim: In this study, we aimed to evaluate effectiveness of the education on level of knowledge and behavioral change about breast cancer and screening methods among 40-69 year old women. Materials and Methods: The research was carried out between November 2016 and May 2017 at Karadeniz Technical University Medical Faculty, Department of Family Medicine. 74 volunteer women aged 40-69 who applied to the family medicine polyclinic were included in the study. In the collection of the data, a questionnaire consists of 42 questions including demographic characteristics and information, attitudes and behaviors related to breast cancer and screening methods was used. This questionnaire was applied to each participant before and after the training. A half-day education was given to participants in groups of 20 people using PowerPoint presentation and breast examination training model. A telephone interview was held with participants after 3 months of education to learn about changes in breast self-examination (BSE), clinical breast examination (CBE) and mammography practices. Results: At the beginning of the study, mean knowledge scoreof women was 12.2±3.7. Mean knowledge scorewas 19.7±1.8 after education, which was significantly increased (p<0.001). The rate of doing BSE increased from 59.5% to 91.9% after education (p<0.001). The rate of having pre-training mammography was 37.8% and post-training was 90.5% (p<0.001). The rate of those who have received a CBE increased from 54.1% to 55.4% after the training (p = 1.000). Conclusions: It has been shown that education on the knowledge, attitudes and behaviors of women about breast cancer and screening methods is effective. It would be beneficial to provide training and counseling to individuals at risk in this regard. Keywords: Education, breast cancer, behavior change, mammography, screening