Knowledge, attitude, and practice of breast Cancer among nurses in hospitals in Asmara, Eritrea

BACKGROUND: Breast cancer accounted for 1.03% of all deaths in 2014 in Eritrea. Yet the knowledge, attitude, and practice (KAP) of the population in general or the health personnel in the country in relation to the disease, remains unknown. Hence, this study was designed to assess the KAP regarding breast cancer among female nurses working in ten hospital wards in Asmara, Eritrea. METHODS: This was a cross-sectional study conducted among 414 nurses. Descriptive statistics, t-test, and ANOVA were used to evaluate the KAP of the nurses. RESULTS: Nurses’ knowledge about the possible risk factors of breast cancer was low but the nurses knew the signs and symptoms of breast cancer since each sign or symptom was mentioned by > 50% of them. The practice of breast cancer screening, however, was low (only 30 and 11.3% practiced clinical breast examination and mammography respectively). Respondents’ family history of breast cancer, having breast problems, their professional level and unit where they worked were associated with the KAP of nurses about breast cancer. CONCLUSION: Training programs could help to increase the nurses’ knowledge about the risk factors of breast cancer and practice of breast cancer screening. This could also help to increase the knowledge of the public about breast cancer.