Assessment of breast cancer awareness and breast self-examination practice of rural women at Hai Duong district, Vietnam

Background: Breast cancer is one of the leading causes of cancer death in women. Assessing the impact of disease awareness on breast self-examination practices can improve health decisions and provide a basis for designing effective educational interventions. Objectives: This study aimed to identify breast cancer awareness and breast self-examination practices among rural women. Methods: A quasi-experimental study was conducted on 204 rural women in Hai Duong province, Vietnam. 99 women received direct education while 105 women joined indirect education through documents. The study questionnaire included breast cancer awareness based on the Health Belief Model scale and women's breast self-examination practice by nurse observation checklist. Data were analysed using descriptive statistics and the paired-sample t-test with the significance level set at P<0.05. Results: The study found that both direct and indirect groups increased of breast cancer awareness and practicing breast self-examination with passed result after 3 and 6 months of intervention. The proportion breast cancer awareness in the direct group was higher than that in the indirect group (P<0.05); the direct educational helped 88.9% of women practice breast self-examination after 3 months, and to 94.9% after 6 months. Conclusion: After educational program, breast cancer awareness and breast self-examination practice of rural women increased significantly. Therefore, educational programs emphasizing the importance of raising awareness and practicing early detection of breast cancer should be enhanced to bring about the desired change among rural women living in poor areas.