Assessing The Nurses’ Knowledge and Practices Related with Early Diagnosis of Breast Cancer

Abstract

Aim: To examine nurses’ knowledge, behaviors, and practices about breast cancer. Material and Methods: The universe of this descriptive and cross-sectional study consists of 535 nurses working at Fırat University Hospital in Elazıg-Turkey and 495 of them were contacted. Study data were obtained using a survey form aiming to determine the sociodemographic characteristics, knowledge, and behaviors of nurses about breast cancer and early diagnosis methods. Data were examined using numbers, mean values, percentages, and the Chi-Square test. Results: The mean age of participants was 29.46±7.27 years, 88.7% were female, and 46.7% were single. Although 65.6% of nurses perform breast self-examination (BSE), only 15.9% were regularly implementing this method. The percentage of those having complete command of BSE was 52.2%, whereas the percentage of those having no knowledge was 12.3%. The ratio of having clinical breast examination (CBE) by physician was 15.4%. The ratio of having mammography was 53.6%. Advancing age, considering the knowledge on breast cancer sufficient, and following the scientific publications on breast cancer were found to have a statistically significant effect on implementation of early diagnosis methods (p<0.05). Conclusion: Since nurses are healthcare professionals, it was determined that they do not have sufficient knowledge of BSE and the percentage of implementing early diagnosis methods for breast cancer was low. Interventions should be made to support the nurses’ knowledge and behaviors related with breast cancer and early diagnosis methods with educational instruments and to determine and minimize the factors preventing the implementation of protective health behaviors.