Awareness about Breast Cancer and Breast Self-Examination among Female Students at the University of Sharjah: A Cross-Sectional Study

BACKGROUND: Breast cancer is a leading cause of mortality among women in the United Arab Emirates (UAE). Many young women in the UAE have poor knowledge about breast cancer screening, including risk factors and warning signs/symptoms. We investigated awareness about breast cancer and breast self-examination (BSE) as a screening tool among female students at the University of Sharjah, UAE. METHODS: This study used a cross sectional survey design. Participants were 241 undergraduate female students (aged ≥18 years) from three University of Sharjah campuses. Data were collected from March to April 2017 using a self-administered questionnaire. The questionnaire covered: sociodemographic characteristics; knowledge about breast cancer, risk factors, and warning signs/symptoms; and knowledge and practice of BSE. Data were analyzed using descriptive statistics and Pearson’s chi-square tests. RESULTS: About 38.6% of participants were from the Medical campus, 37.3% were from the Women’s campus, and 24% were from the Fine Arts and Design campus. Most (99%) participants had heard of breast cancer. About 50% were knowledgeable about the risk factors, but only 38% were knowledgeable about warning signs/symptoms. The most commonly identified risk factors were family and personal histories of breast cancer, and the most commonly identified warning sign/symptom was breast lump. There was a significant association between knowledge about risk factors and campus type. Participants from the Medical campus were more knowledgeable about risk factors than participants from the other two campuses. Overall, 68.5% of participants had heard of BSE, but few participants actually performed BSE. Reasons for not performing BSE included “forgetting” and “not knowing how.” CONCLUSIONS: Although most participants were aware of breast cancer, knowledge about risk factors and warning signs/symptoms was relatively poor. Knowledge about performing BSE was particularly low. This highlights the importance of increasing awareness about breast cancer and BSE among young women in the UAE.