Johannesburg northern suburbs women`s attitude, knowledge and behaviour towards breast self-examination

Abstract

Breast self-examination (BSE) is a recommended breast cancer screening behaviour whereby a woman examines her breasts on a monthly basis to detect any problems

The purpose of this study has been to determine Johannesburg northern suburbs women’s attitudes, knowledge and behaviour towards BSE.

To this view, a questionnaire was developed. Subjects were recruited from three Johannesburg northern suburb general practices. The data was captured and analysed using the Epi-info 6 statistical package.

The results indicated that the majority of respondents were aware of BSE and believed in its value Furthermore and consistent with first-world countries, only a minority of respondents practise BSE regularly, although the majority had examined their breasts at least once.

It is recommended that a formal breast cancer-screening programme, in particular BSE education at a primary health care level, be instituted since presently none exists in South Africa.