ASSOCIATION OF PRE-TEST KNOWLEDGE SCORE REGARDING BREAST SELF- EXAMINATION WITH SELECTED SOCIO DEMOGRAPHIC VARIABLES IN SELECTEDHOSPITALS OF PATIALA

Breast Self-Examination is an important, cheap & easy method for early diagnosis of Breast Cancer. Carcinoma of the breast is an important public health problem with its associated high morbidity & mortality. Current reports indicate that cancer of the breast is the commonest malignancy in females affecting more than one million females annually, with an increasing incidence as the women presumably adopt a western life style. Setting and Design: The study was conducted at Government hospital, Patiala, Punjab. The reason for selecting these schools was investigator’s convenience and expected cooperation from authorities in getting permission for conducting the study. The population of the study was female nurses. Target population of the study consisted of nurses from Government hospital, Patiala, Punjab. Investigator selected a sample of 500 nurses by using convenient sampling technique from selected Government Hospital, Patiala, and Punjab. Results: The difference between pre test and post test mean knowledge score was found statistically significant at p<0.01 level by ‘t’ test. The relationship of pre-test and post-test mean knowledge Score among the nurses according to age was found statistically significant at p<0.01 level by ANOVA.