KNOWLEDGE, ATTITUDE AND PRACTICE OF BREAST SELF-EXAMINATION AMONG FEMALE LAW STUDENTS IN EKITI STATE UNIVERSITY
Abstract
Breast cancer is the most prevalent form of cancer among female gender in Nigeria. Breast self examination is an early detection tool for breast cancer. This study aims to assess the knowledge, attitude and practice of breast self examination while identifying the barriers to the practice of breast self examination among female law students in Ekiti state University. A descriptive survey design was employed, using a self designed questionnaire to collect data from female undergraduate law students in Ekiti State University. 155 respondents were selected through the use of proportional stratified sampling technique and ethical consideration clearance was obtained before proceeding to the field. Data was analyzed using Statistical Package for Social Sciences (SPSS) v25 and the results were presented using tables, figures, bar charts and pie chart. The hypotheses were tested using chi-square at a 0.05 level of significance. The result from the study showed that 63.9% (99) had good knowledge of breast self examination and 67.74% (105) had positive attitude towards it, 49.5% of the respondent was however noticed to have good practice of it. There was no significant relationship between knowledge and attitude towards breast self examination because the p value is more than 0.05 (p- 0.98). There was no significant relationship between knowledge and practice of breast self- examination because the p value is more than 0.05 (P -0. 964) In conclusion, with the large percentage of good knowledge and attitude towards breast self-examination, the practice of breast self-examination was poor. Therefore there should be free leaflets that provide clear and concise instructions on how to perform breast self-examination. Regular reminders through channels such as Email, text messages, news letters should be implemented to encourage women to perform breast self- examination on a monthly basis.
Keywords: Attitude, breast cancer, breast self-examination, Knowledge, practice.
Number of words: 296
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