Impact of health talks on knowledge, attitudes and perception of breast cancer screening and treatment amongst healthcare staff by a breast surgical unit in a public healthcare institution: a cross-sectional study

BACKGROUND: In October 2019, surgeons from Changi General Hospital (CGH) Breast Centre delivered a series of health talk for its employees to assess the knowledge and perception of breast cancer screening and to improve the level of related knowledge amongst the institution’s healthcare workers. This was to enable CGH, a healthcare provider to not only care for our patients, but also to look after its staff. METHODS: 141 hospital staff attended a 40-min talk followed by an open question and answer forum. Pre and post talk surveys were conducted to gauge knowledge, attitudes, beliefs and misconceptions towards breast cancer screening and treatment. Question domains were divided into (1) breast cancer knowledge, (2) breast cancer screening guidelines and (3) attitudes and perception of breast cancer screening and treatment. Univariate and multivariate logistic regression analysis were used to examine the relationship between demographics and performance in question domains. RESULTS: The overall response rate was 131 out of a total of 141 attendees (92.9%). The median age was 44 years old (range, 22–67), with nursing staff making up 40% of the cohort. Analysis showed statistically significant improvement in median score across all 3 domains. (p < 0.05) after the forum. We found that respondents who were women ≥ 40 years (eligible age for screening), had higher income, lived in larger housing types, had attended previous talks, had served > 10 years in healthcare and had personal encounter with breast cancer patients performed better. Surprisingly, being a nurse or having a university degree did not translate to a better score. 99% of respondents found the forum beneficial and would recommend it to others. Several knowledge gaps about breast cancer screening and misconceptions were identified. Future campaigns should focus on raising awareness of the national screening program BreastScreen Singapore. We aim to reinforce its recommendations, promote on the affordability and ready accessibility. CONCLUSIONS: A simple Breast Cancer Awareness Month campaign targeted at healthcare workers was found to be effective at educating hospital staff on breast cancer, screening practices and improving perception of screening and treatment practices. This may empower them to not only care for themselves but also to serve patients better.