Knowledge, attitude and practice of breast self-examination among females in medical and non-medical colleges in Qassim University

Abstract

Aims: The objective of this study was to investigate any difference between females in medical and non-medical colleges for (1) knowledge and attitude of breast self-examination (BSE) and (2) practice of BSE. Subjects and Methods: A cross-sectional study was conducted in Qassim University during 2014-2015. Cluster random sample method was used. The sample size consisted of 365 females. A confidential and self-administered questionnaire was used to collect data. Results: Age range of the study participants was from 18 to 55 years, with a mean of 20.3 years. Moreover, 11% of the subjects had positive family history of breast cancer. Regarding their knowledge levels about BSE, 95.8% of medical students had heard of BSE in comparison to 93.3% of non-medical students. Social media was the most commonly reported source of BSE information (50.14%). We found that 49.7% of medical students had carried out BSE previously in comparison to 35.71% of the non-medical students. Conclusions: Both medical and non-medical students showed lack of knowledge in BSE and even though their attitude towards it was positive, medical students had a better attitude towards it. Moreover, regarding the practice, the percentage of medical students who perform BSE was higher than that of non-medical students.