Knowledge, Attitudes, and Practices toward Breast Cancer among Midwives in a Breast Cancer Educational Seminar in Tehran

Background & Objectives: The incidence of breast cancer is rising rapidly worldwide. Midwives have important role to prevent the outcome of it with awareness and Breast Clinical Examination for early detection. About ۹۰% of the patients with breast cancer detect their disease by self-examination. This study investigated the knowledge, attitudes, and practices of midwives toward breast cancer (BC).Methods: The study was conducted on ۲۱۰ students of midwifery aged ۲۰-۶۲ who participated in a seminar for clarifying the role of knowledge, attitudes, and practices in BC early detection or prevention. The data were collected using a standard questionnaire. The questionnaire has ۴ parts with ۵۵ questions including: age, educational level, number of family members, marital status, family history of Breast Cancer and their knowledge, attitude, and performances. Data were analyzed using SPSS version ۱۳.۰.Results: Over half of the participants (۶۵.۹%) had excellent knowledge about the signs and symptoms of BC. The results revealed that ۳۰.۸% of respondents performed self-examination once a month. There was a significant correlation between knowledge of BC and prevention (P = ۰.۰۲). The level of their attitude had significantly associated with family history (P= ۰.۰۳). There was no significant relationship between marital status and Family history with Breast Clinical Examination.Conclusion: An appropriate level of knowledge and practice of BC screening was observed to help prevention among midwives.

Keywords:

Breast cancer , knowledge , clinical breast examination , midwives , prevention