How Level of Education Relates to Knowledge, Attitude and Practices Regarding Breast Cancer and Its Screening Methods

Abstract

Context: Breast cancer is the most frequently diagnosed cancer among women worldwide. Breast cancer is a major contributor towards cancer related morbidity and mortality in Pakistani women. Aims: The study aimed to examine how level of education relates to the knowledge, attitude and practices regarding breast cancer and its screening methods amongst women. Settings and Design: A cross-sectional survey was conducted in Lahore, Pakistan. Methods and Materials: 504 randomly selected women participated in study, data was collected using a structured self-administered and interview administered questionnaire. Statistical Analysis Used: Descriptive statistics were applied for demographic data. For association of demographics with the mean scores of knowledge, attitude and practices, chi- square test was performed. P value < 0.05 was considered as significant. Results: Results showed a direct relation between the level of education and the knowledge of women. Mean knowledge score was 34.5% in the group having no formal education. The groups having primary, matriculation, college level and university level education had mean knowledge scores of 43.7%, 51.6%, 65.8% and 66.6% respectively. Attitudes and practices were independent of the level of education. However, participants from class 1 (no formal education) had better attitude towards Breast Self Exam than any other class. All the groups had almost equal practice scores relating to BSE, although, the overall practices score was low (36.5%). Conclusion: It was concluded that overall knowledge about breast cancer was relatively weak in all participants, being lowest in people with less education.