Determining the self-breast examination of female HEALTH workers and the factors affecting the breast cancer prevention behavior

The study was conducted as a cross-sectional and descriptive study in order to determine the breast self-examination status of nurses and midwives working in the hospital and the factors affecting it. The research was carried out in four hospitals affiliated to the Provincial Health Directorate in the city center of Bolu. The sample of the study consisted of 500 nurses and midwives. Research data were collected using Personal Information Form, Champion Health Belief Model Scale, and Scale for Identifying Factors Affecting Women's Breast Cancer Prevention Behaviors. Number, percentage, mean, standard deviation, t-test for independent groups, chi-square test and logistic regression analysis were used to evaluate the data. According to the research findings, while 49.8% of the participants do breast self-exam, 51.2% do not. 75.7% of those who did not do the examination stated that they forgot / neglected it and 32.3% stated that they did not perform breast self-examination because they did not have any complaints. Participants got the highest mean score from the perception of confidence/self-efficacy (36.58±6.35) and the lowest mean score from the sensitivity (8.04±2.25) sub-dimension from the Health Belief Model scale. The mean score of the Scale for Identifying the Factors Affecting the Breast Cancer Prevention Behaviors of the participants was found to be 106.26±14.25. Income status, pregnancy status, history of breast cancer in first degree relatives, perception of confidence-self-efficacy and information seeking scores were found to be effective on breast self-examination (p<0.05). The risk of not performing breast self-examination was found to be 2.1 times higher in those whose income is less than their expenses compared to those whose income is more than their expenses. While the risk of not performing breast self-exam in non-pregnant women is 2 times higher than those who are pregnant, the risk of not performing breast self-examination in those who have no history of breast cancer in their first-degree relatives is 2 times higher than those with a history of breast cancer. It was observed that a 1-unit decrease in the confidence-self-efficacy perception score increased the risk of not performing breast self-examination by 1.1 times, while a 1-unit decrease in the information seeking score increased the risk of not performing breast self-examination by 1.1 times. As a result, half of the participant group performs breast self-examination. Income status, pregnancy history, family history of breast cancer, perception of confidence-self-efficacy and information seeking attitude affect breast examination.