Evaluation of breast cancer knowledge and awareness levels in women with and without healthcare professions

EVALUATİON OF BREAST CANCER KNOWLEDGE AND AWARENESS LEVELS İN WOMEN WİTH AND WİTHOUT HEALTHCARE PROFESSİONS Aim: Our study aims to evaluate the levels of knowledge and awareness about breast cancer among women who are healthcare workers and those who are not. Method: Our single-center, cross-sectional, descriptive study was conducted at Karadeniz Technical University Faculty of Medicine, Department of Family Medicine, through face-to-face surveys with women aged 20 to 70 years. In the first section of the questionnaire, participants' sociodemographic characteristics were assessed. In the second section, the Comprehensive Breast Cancer Knowledge Test was used. In the third section, the Breast Cancer Awareness Scale was administered. A total of 328 participants, with 164 in each group, took part in the study. The level of statistical significance was set at p<0.05. Results: The mean age of the participants was 36.4 ± 11.9 years. The majority of participants were aware of the concepts of breast self-examination (BSE) (90.5%) and clinical breast examination (CBE) (86.6%); breast cancer awareness among healthcare workers was significantly higher than among non-healthcare workers (p<0.001). The frequency of performing BSE was generally low, with 25.9% of participants never having performed BSE and 59.8% never having undergone CBE. Only 3.7% of participants demonstrated full awareness, while 96.3% showed partial awareness. In terms of knowledge levels, overall knowledge scores decreased with increasing age. A positive and significant correlation was found between the total scores of the Breast Cancer Awareness Scale (BCAS) and the Comprehensive Breast Cancer Knowledge Test (CBCKT) (r=0.116; p=0.036). Being a healthcare worker did not significantly affect awareness or knowledge scores. Conclusion: Although healthcare professionals demonstrated higher knowledge levels, they did not show a significant advantage in awareness or screening behaviors. Early diagnosis plays a critical role in the course of the disease and treatment success, highlighting the importance of primary healthcare services. Therefore, promoting continuous education and screening programs is of great importance. Keywords: Breast cancer, Breast Self-Examination (BSE), Clinical Breast Examination (CBE), Knowledge level, Awareness level, Screening, Family Medicine