Female Staff Knowledge, Attitude and Practice Regarding Breast Cancer Screening in Vaseie Hospital of Sabzevar in 2009

Background: Breast cancer is the most common cancer in women. Improving knowledge and practice level regarding breast cancer screening will reduce the mortality rate of breast cancer. This study assessed female staff knowledge, attitude and practice (KAP) about breast cancer screening to determine educational preference. Methods: This descriptive- analytical study was conducted in Vaseie hospital of Sabzevar, among female staff who were twenty years old or older. A sample size of 82 from a population of 115 produced a 95% confidence interval. Data was collected with a questionnaire, and were analyzed by spearman’s correlation coefficient and one way ANOVA. Results: The mean knowledge score was 42.68±19. A very positive attitude to BSE was seen in 77.5%, to physical exam in 83.8%, and to mammography in 63.8% of the people.62.2% of the people had already done BSE,11% had done physical exam and 2,4% had done mammography. There was no correlation between knowledge score and age (P=0.057), breastfeeding duration (P=0.910) and education (P=0.134). The attitude of single females was better than married ones. The people with positive family history had better practice (P=0.019). Conclusions: Female staff had average knowledge , positive attitude, and poor performance toward breast cancer screening especially about mammography. According to this study, there was no correlation between KAP score and breast cancer risk factors except positive family history. Keywords: Attitude; Breast Cancer; Knowledge; Practice; Mammography