Breast cancer awareness and practice of breast self examination among primary health care nurses: influencing factors and effects of an in‐service education

Aim. The purposes of this study were to identify the level of breast cancer and breast self examination practice knowledge of primary health nurses and the factors influencing breast cancer and breast self examination knowledge as well as to investigate the frequency of breast self examination practice of primary health nurses and influencing factors and to evaluate the effects of an in‐service training program about breast cancer and breast self examination practice for primary health nurses. Background. An increased awareness among nurses about breast cancer prevention would most likely result in a higher number of better educated women about breast cancer and also motivate adherence to screening recommendations. Design and methods. A pre‐test and post‐test design was implemented to evaluate the effectiveness of a Breast Cancer and Breast Self Examination Education Program for primary health nurses. The program was instructed to 192 of the 215 primary health nurses by two nurse trainers. Pre‐ and post‐tests made available a quantitative evaluation of the level of improvement in breast cancer and breast self‐examination knowledge. Results. Mean of total breast cancer knowledge score of primary health nurses prior to the program was 58·51 SD 15·63 whereas, it increased to 75·96 SD 9·53, revealing a statistically significant escalation ( p < 0·0001). A significant increase was detected in the number of primary health nurses practising breast self examination as a result of the significant improvement in the mean of self breast self examination practice knowledge score which rose evidently from 71·09 SD 19·31 to 85·02 SD 12·92 ( p < 0·0001). Conclusion. The in‐service education program improved the knowledge about breast cancer and practice of breast self examination in trained primary health nurses. The program model, which involved trained primary health nurse also represented an efficient use of the resources. Relevance to clinical practice. It is important that primary health nurses have adequate breast cancer knowledge and practice of breast self examination to contribute effectively to primary health care. Findings of this study can be used to guide the planning efforts on continuous education of primary health nurses about breast cancer and breast self examination issues.