Knowledge and Screening Practices of Breast Cancer among Female Teachers in Pokhara

Abstract

As women are at risk of breast cancer (BC), female teachers should be aware of its risk factors and screening practices to safeguard their health and increase preventive awareness among other women. Considering this context, the present study aimed to assess BC knowledge and screening practices among female teachers in Pokhara. In addition, this study examined the role of health belief model (HBM) constructs in predicting breast self-examination (BSE) practice among teachers. A cross-sectional study was done among 198 female teachers working at 13 secondary-level community schools of Pokhara metropolitan using a single-stage cluster sampling technique. Data was collected from 12 March to 9 April 2024 using a semi-structured questionnaire and self-administration technique and analyzed using IBM SPSS version 22. The teachers ranged from 21 to 58 years; their average age was 40.99 + 8.10 years. Nearly half of the respondents (44.9%) had a Master's degree in Education, and 62.1% were teaching at the primary level. This study found that 64.1% and 19.2% of the teachers knew BC symptoms and risk factors, respectively. There was a statistically significant difference in BC knowledge score according to job duration and having a social history of BC. BSE was ever done by 76.3% of the teachers. However, only 16.7% reported examining their breasts at least monthly. One-third of respondents (27.8%) had ever done a clinical breast examination (CBE), and 15.7% had done mammography. The practice of BSE was significantly associated with having a history of breast problems, marital status, having CBE, and having done mammography. This study also assessed health beliefs related to BC and BSE using the Champions HBM (CHBM) scale. The mean scores of the HBM constructs in the present study are: perceived susceptibility (7.07 + 2.15), perceived severity (20.52 + IV

5.05), self-efficacy (24.85 + 5.52), perceived benefits (22.21 + 4.25), perceived barriers (13.35 + 4.04) and general health motivation (27.47 + 4.20). The present study also examined the relationship between BSE practice and HBM variables. The score of perceived benefits of BSE and BSE self-efficacy score were significantly higher among BSE performers than among women who never performed BSE (t’s<- 2.876, p’s<0.011), and the groups did not differ with respect to other HBM variables. The present study observed that the women with perceived benefits of BSE were more likely to perform BSE. It was also observed that women with greater general health motivation were less likely to engage in BSE. This study concludes that only a few female school teachers living in urban areas have an understanding of BC and are less likely to go for BC screening periodically. BC knowledge and screening might be increased through the targeted intervention of BC education, emphasizing the risk factors of BC, the benefits of BSE, and focusing on increasing women’s self-efficacy to perform BSE.