Knowledge, Practices and Education of Clients Regarding Breast Cancer Screening Among Health Care Workers in Plateau, North-Central Nigeria

Background/objectives: Majority of the Breast Cancer patients in our environment present at advance stage with poor prognosis. However, screening services like Breast Self Examination (BSE) exist where early diagnose would improve the prognosis. The objectives of the study were to determine the knowledge of Primary Healthcare Centre (PHC) workers regarding breast cancer, BSE, its practice and education of clients.Method: A cross-sectional survey of 182 female PHC Workers of selected LGAs. A multistage sampling technique was used to obtain participants. Information was obtained using an interviewer administered questionnaire and analyzed with Epi info. 3.3.2 Version.Results: Out of the 182 respondents studied, 80(44%) were Community Health Extension workers, 168 (92.3%) of the participants were aware of cancer of the breast. Their main sources of information were during training 63.7% and Media 19.7%. The respondents cited smoking (31.0%) and having a relative with cancer of the breast (31.0%) as risk factors associated with the cancer. Majority (91.7%) of participants knew the cancer could be prevented, although not all could link regular breast examination to the prevention. Most (87.2%) respondents knew how to perform BSE, out of which 75% had educated their clients with regards to breast cancer and BSE. Only 48(36.8%) knew the examination should be done monthly and for the purpose of lump detection.Conclusion: The study revealed high level of awareness with some patchy in-depth knowledge regarding breast cancer and BSE among the respondents. The practice of BSE did not proportionately translate to education of clients. In-service educational programs should target PHC workers who will transfer the knowledge and skills adequately to their clients at the grass roots