Knowledge, Attitude and Practice of Breast Self Examination (BSE) among Female Undergraduates in the University of Uyo, Southern Nigeria

Introduction: Breast Self-Examination (BSE) is a technique in which a woman examines her own breasts by seeing and feeling with fingers to detect breast lump. The purpose of breast self-examination is to increase familiarity with breast, to detect presence of lump in the breast at an early stage and to look for any abnormal changes in the breast.
Objective: This study was done to determine the knowledge, attitude and practice of BSE among female undergraduates in University of Uyo.
Methodology: This was a cross-sectional descriptive study carried out among 350 registered female undergraduates in the University of Uyo, Akwa Ibom State, Nigeria between August and October 2017. They were selected using a proportionate stratified random sampling method. Data collection was done using a self-administered semi-structured questionnaire and was analyzed using Statistical Package for the Social
Sciences, version 23.
Results: The average age of the respondents was 22.571.73 years. All the respondents had heard of breast cancer. However, only 80% acknowledged that it was common in the population under consideration. 89.4% of the respondents reported that breast cancer can be detected early and 89.1% were of the opinion that early detection can improve the chances of survival. 78.3% of the respondents had heard of BSE and 51.7% reported that it is important in the early detection of cancer. Only 23.4% of respondents reported performing BSE regularly. 24.6% of respondents started BSE before 19 years while 57.8% started BSE above 19 years.
Conclusion: In spite of the high awareness about BSE and breast cancer, there seemsto be a poor level of knowledge about the specific dynamics that comprises BSE. The relatively poor level of knowledge can explain the inefficient practice of BSE.