Knowledge, attitude and practice on breast cancer screening among female nurses in a tertiary hospital in Ghana.

Background: Breast cancer is the most common female malignancy worldwide.In Sub-Saharan African countries, there are no national screening programmes for BC.In the absence of sufficient mammograms, breast self-examination and clinical breast examination play an important role.Nurses educate the general public on BC screening. Objective:The study aimed to evaluate the knowledge, attitude and practices with regard to BC among female nurses at a tertiary hospital in Ghana.Methods: This was a cross-sectional descriptive study utilising a self-administered close-ended questionnaire carried out among full-time nurses.This assessed knowledge of BC risk factors, signs and symptoms of BC, the attitude one should develop towards BC and the practice of breast self-examination (BSE), clinical breast examination (CBE) and mammography.The level of knowledge was categorised into good ( 75%), satisfactory (50 -74%) and poor (< 50 %).A logistic regression analysis was carried out to determine factors associated with inadequate knowledge (level of knowledge < 50%) and the practice of BSE, CBE and agreeing to mastectomy.Results: This study found that the knowledge of nurses in BC was adequate.A total of 67% of nurses regularly practised BSE, 39% had previously had a CBE, and 85% of those 40 years and above had never had a mammogram.A total of 60% of nurses admitted they would disagree with a mastectomy in the event of being diagnosed with BC. Conclusion:This study found that the knowledge of BC among nurses did not translate into good BC screening practices, and they had an overwhelming fear of mastectomy.There is a need for training programs to be directed at improving breast screening practices, also focusing on the curability of BC, its treatment options and survivorship to help overcome the fear and stigma associated with mastectomy.