An educational intervention study to enhance breast cancer awareness among women and primary healthcare providers of an urban health center area, Visakhapatnam

BACKGROUND: Breast cancer is the most common malignancy in women worldwide posing greater health challenge. The poor survival rate from breast cancer in India may be attributed to lack of awareness, low rate of screening uptake and presentation of cases in advanced stage. OBJECTIVES: To assess the baseline knowledge and effectiveness of educational intervention in improving the knowledge regarding breast cancer. MATERIALS AND METHODS: A quasi-experimental community-based health educational intervention study was performed among 100 women and 18 female primary healthcare providers residing in urban field practice area. Face-to-face interviews were performed using a questionnaire adapted from the Breast Cancer Awareness Measure (Breast-CAM) Version 2. Data were analyzed using SPSS version 25. To assess the difference between pre- and postintervention scores, Mc-Nemar’s test and paired sample t tests were applied. Association between socio-demographic variables and difference in mean scores was assessed by using ANOVA and independent t test. P value less than 0.05 was taken as statistically significant. RESULTS: The mean pre-intervention score of knowledge items (21 including warning signs, risk factors of breast cancer) among 100 women participants was 7.19 ± 3.45 and postintervention mean score was 18.18 ± 2.42. The mean pre-intervention score among 18 primary healthcare providers was 10.89 ± 4.59 and postintervention score was 19.89 ± 1.28. There was significant improvement in mean scores. The increase in percentage of scores in all 21 items postintervention was significant (Mc-Nemar’s test). There was significant association between socio-demographic profile and increase in mean scores. The study identified various barriers for seeking medical care among women. CONCLUSION: The community-based educational intervention was effective in enhancing the knowledge regarding breast cancer among women.