A Comparison of the Knowledge of Breast Self-Examination in Female Students of Shiraz University of Medical Sciences and Those of Shiraz University of Sciences, 2004

Breast cancer is the most common cancer in women. Early detection of breast cancer is effective in reducing its mortality rate, and the best method of its screening is breast self-examination. The purpose of this study was to determine the knowledge of breast self-examination among the female students of Shiraz university of sciences and Shiraz university of medical sciences in 2004. Patients and A cross-sectional study was conducted. The sample contained 198 female students of Shiraz university of sciences and 180 female students of Shiraz university of medical sciences. The subjects were selected through stratified random sampling(the major was strata). Data were collected by a questionnaire with a reliability of more than 80% and analyzed by SPSS 11.5. Judging from the answers given to the total 12 questions on the knowledge of BSE, the results showed that the mean knowledge of BSE in the students of Shiraz university of sciences and Shiraz university of medical sciences was 4.7±7.6 and 5.8±2.9 respectively, which was indicative of a significant association(P<0.049). There was no significant relation between the level of knowledge of BSE and family history of breast cancer, age, educational year, and marital status. However, there was a significant association between the level of knowledge of BSE and major(P<0.000). In conclusion, the student's level of knowledge of BSE was lower than average. Therefore, it is recommended that educational practical workshops on the aforementioned matters be held.