Assessment Of Knowledge And Practice Of Methods Of Early Detection And Risk Factors For Breast Cancer Among Regular Undergraduate Female Students Of Jimma University, Jimma, Ethiopia

Background: Breast cancer is the most common cause of mortality in middle aged women in western countries and it is also one of the major health problems globally. Objective: The objective of this study was to assess knowledge and practice of methods of early detection and risk factors for breast cancer among regular undergraduate female students of Jimma University. Methodology: This study was conducted in Jimma University, which is located in Oromia Region Jimma town, 335 kilometers South West of the capital Addis Ababa. The study was conducted from June 10-24, 2016. All female regular undergraduate students in Jimma University in the academic year of 2015/2016 were taken to be the source population for this study. A sample of 397 students was selected to fill the questionnaire. A stratified random sampling technique was used to select the study participants; and data analysis was done manually and using SPSS computer software. Result: A total of 361 students filled and returned the questionnaire in this study. The median age of these participants was 21 year. 68.98% of the participants have heard about Self-Breast Examination (SBE) and mass-medias were the main source of information (55.42%) for them. 24.1% of the students have at least once performed Self-Breast Examination; where as 75.9% of them have never performed It; mostly because of not being sure how to perform it (87.26%). Most of the participants (85.04%) want to be taught about and how to perform Self-Breast Examination. 91. 14% of the participants know that a previous personal history of breast cancer increases the risk of having breast cancer again; whereas 83.66% of them know that family history of breast cancer increases the risk of having breast cancer in the individual. Conclusion: Most of the participants were unaware of the benefits, the appropriate timing in relation to menstrual period, and techniques of performing Self-Breast Examination (SBE). Health Science Students (HSS) had better awareness & practice of Self-Breast Examination than Non-Health Science Students (NHSS).