TITLE:
A Cross Sectional Study of the Knowledge and Practice of Self-Breast Examination among Market Women at the Makola Shopping Mall, Accra, Ghana
AUTHORS:
Elorm Kudzawu, Francis Agbokey, Collins S. K. Ahorlu
KEYWORDS:
Breast Cancer, Self Breast Examination, Knowledge, Practices, Prevention, Treatment, Accra, Ghana
JOURNAL NAME:
Advances in Breast Cancer Research,
Vol.5 No.3,
June
28,
2016
ABSTRACT: Background: Breast
cancer is one of the most common cancers in women worldwide. With an estimated
incidence of 1,676,633 with 521,817 deaths in the year 2012, the figure is
expected to hit the 82.5 millionth mark by 2015. Breast cancer screening is reported to be
extremely low in most low-middle income countries like Ghana. This study was to
determine the knowledge and practices of self-breast examination among market
women at Makola Shopping Mall in Accra, Ghana. Methods: The study was conducted at the Makola Shopping
Mall in Accra among women above the age of 20 years who owned a store and sell
at the mall. Data were collected using mixed method involving in-depth
interviews and questionnaire survey. Random samples of 170 participants were
selected from a population of 400 for the quantitative survey. A total of eight
in-depth interviews were conducted to generate qualitative data to complement
the survey data. Results: Majority (60%) of the respondents were between the ages of 20 - 40 years.
There’s a high literacy rate among the participants. Though awareness of self-breast examination
was very high (93%), only 27% practiced self-breast examination in line with
the recommended one week period after menses due to lack of knowledge of the
basic skills to do self-breast examination. Conclusion: In view of the lack of
knowledge resulting in non-performance of self-breast examination, continuous
education on breast cancer screening should be given to the women to enable
them acquire the skills of performing self-breast examination to promote early
detection of the disease.