Female healthcare workers and breast cancer screening

Aim/Background: Breast cancer is the common type of cancer all around the world. In this study, we aimed to evaluate female healthcare professionals’ knowledge, attitudes, behaviours and beliefs about breast cancer and breast cancer screening methods. Methods: This study was conducted in a training and research hospital. Female healthcare professionals were included in the study. The data were collected by questionnaires filled out through face to face interviews. SPSS for Win. Ver. 15.0 was used for the analysis. Results: The study included 525 participants, 52.4%(n=275) of them were midwives/nurses, 31.2%(n=164) were doctors, and 16.4%(n=86) were other allied health personnel. The doctors were found more knowledgeable than the others about signs and symptoms of breast cancer (p=0.001). The sensitivity subscale scores according to Breast Cancer Health Belief Model Scale were higher in the participants whose first-degree relatives had a history of breast cancer (p=0.001). Conclusion: Early diagnosis of breast cancer can be possible by the implementation of screening programs effectively. For this purpose, it is necessary to encourage healthcare professionals to be sensitive to the subject as well as increasing the awareness of breast cancer in the community. Giris ve Amac: Meme kanseri tum dunyada yaygin olarak gorulen bir kanser turudur. Bu calismada kadin saglik calisanlarinin meme kanseri ve meme kanseri tarama metodlariyla ilgili bilgi, tutum, davranis ve saglik inanclarini degerlendirmeyi hedefledik. Yontem: Bu calisma bir egitim ve arastirma hastanesinde yurutulmustur.  Veriler yuz yuze gorusme teknigi kullanilarak doldurulan anket formlari araciligiyla toplanmistir. Arastirmadan elde edilen verilerin analizinde SPSS for Win. Ver. 15.0 (Statistical PackageforSocialSciencesInc., Chicago, ILL., USA) paket programi kullanilmistir. Bulgular: Calismaya dahil edilen 525 saglik calisaninin %52,4 (n=275)’unu ebe/hemsire, %31,2 (n=164)’sini doktor ve %16,4 (n=86)’unu diger yardimci saglik personeli olusturmaktadir. Meme kanseri belirtilerini bilme durumuna bakildiginda, doktorlarin digerlerine gore meme kanseri belirtilerini daha iyi bildikleri saptanmistir, bu sonuc istatistiksel olarak da anlamlidir (χ²= 101,512; p=0,001). Birinci derece akrabalarinda meme kanseri oykusu olanlarin, olmayanlara gore Meme Kanseri Saglik Inanc Modeli Olcegi (MKSIMO) duyarlilik alt boyutundan aldiklari puan ortalamasi daha yuksek olarak bulunmustur (p=0,001). Sonuc: Meme kanserinde erken tani, tarama programlarinin etkin bir sekilde yurutulmesiyle yakalanabilir. Bunun icin de toplumda meme kanseri farkindaliginin artirilmasinin yaninda saglik calisanlarinin konuya hassasiyetle egilmelerinin saglanmasi gerekmektedir.