Effect of breast-self examination training on health beliefs and practices: student nurses educating relatives

_________________________________________________________________________________________ Purpose: Breast self-examination (BSE) is a critical technique in early detection of breast diseases, especially cancer. This quasiexperimental study was performed to evaluate the effects of BSE training on health beliefs and practices among relatives of nursing students. Materials and methods: The study sample consisted of 133 relatives of nursing students. After training student nurses about BSE, they were requested to train their relatives regarding BSE. The data were collected before and 6 months after BSE training. Results: It was determined that 39.1% (n=52) of women performed BSE before the training and 87.2% (n=116) of them after the training and this difference was statistically significant (p=0.0001). Sensitivity perception (Z=-2.915, p=0.004), benefit perception (Z=-4.888, p=0.0001) and confidence perception (Z=-2.503, p=0.012) of women significantly increased and disability perception (Z=-8.576, p=0.0001) decreased significantly after the training. Conclusions: In conclusion, the BSE training given by nursing students to their relatives enhanced health beliefs and practices of the participants.