Open AccessAwareness regarding breast cancer among urban women in South India
Author(s) -
Ramya Ramadoss,
R. Chandru,
Rajiv Raj D.,
Zeenath Begum U.,
Shwetha Suryaraj,
S . Manoj
Publication year - 2021
Publication title -
biomedicine
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 0.106
H-Index - 9
ISSN - 0970-2067
DOI - 10.51248/.v41i4.411
Subject(s) - medicine , breast cancer , breast cancer awareness , incidence (geometry) , family medicine , cancer , health care , population , cross sectional study , gerontology , environmental health , pathology , physics , optics , economics , economic growth
and Aim: Breast cancer is associated with increased morbidity and mortality and recent trends have shown increased incidence among younger women. There is, therefore, an imminent need to raise the level of awareness among the women in the entire population. The present study was carried out to evaluate the level of awareness among urban women in South India. Methodology: This hospital based cross sectional study was carried out among 1000 adult women who visited the outpatient clinics of our tertiary care hospital for various illness. The level of awareness regarding breast cancer was elicited based on the risk factors of breast cancer, symptoms, and role of family history. Awareness regarding the tools for early detection, management and preventive measures was also elicited. Results: The study observed that 78.9% of the participants who were illiterates had no awareness of the symptoms, while 57.9% of the participants with high school level education were unaware of the symptoms. Regarding the role of genetics in breast cancer occurrence, 47% of the illiterate participants reported that breast cancer is not hereditary. It was observed that lack of awareness regarding the early detection was prevalent among 81%, 87% and 93% of the participants who were illiterate, primary, and middle school level educated respectively. Conclusion: The present study has also elucidated the lack of adequate knowledge on important facts regarding the breast cancer is alarming and this needs to be addressed with due focus on providing health education by health care providers at various levels of health system.