Abstract 76: Impact of Breast Cancer Screening Workshops in Indonesia and Zambia

Abstract Purpose: Breast cancer (BC) is the most common cancer diagnosed in women worldwide, and a leading cause of cancer-related death in low-and-middle income countries. Lack of organized screening programs contribute to late-stage diagnosis and worse outcomes. Integrating breast and cervical cancer screening may offer a feasible approach to improving early BC detection in resource-limited settings. We developed an integrated breast and cervical cancer early detection workshop for healthcare providers already engaged in cervical cancer screening. This study aims to evaluate the impact of these workshops on participants’ confidence in performing clinical breast exams (CBEs) and recommending appropriate BC screening. Methods: A 1-day workshop was delivered to healthcare providers from Zambia and Indonesia. Didactics were focused on recognizing BC symptoms and basic clinical management. The hands-on session included CBEs using a low-cost breast model. Participants completed a survey after the course which assessed current BC screening practices, feasibility of integrated screening, and confidence in performing and recommending CBEs. Fisher’s exact test was used to compare differences between Indonesia and Zambia survey responses. Results: There were 77 Zambian and 38 Indonesian participants; 44.1% of Zambian and 50% of Indonesian participants completed the survey. 54.7% of participants had never attended an integrated screening workshop and 43.4% did not consistently discuss BC screening with patients. After the workshop, most participants reported increased confidence in recommending appropriate BC screening (66.0%) and performing CBEs (84.9%). Zambian participants were significantly more likely than Indonesian participants to report increased confidence in recommending BC screening (79.4% vs. 42.1%, p=0.01). There were no significant differences in barriers faced in recommending BC screening to patients, which included lack of time, patient’s lack of awareness or fear about screening, provider’s lack of knowledge about screening, and insurance issues. Conclusion: The integrated workshop was effective in improving participants’ confidence in recommending appropriate BC screening and performing CBEs. This highlights the value of training programs to strengthen provider capacity for cancer detection in low-resource settings. Future directions may include wider dissemination of the workshop and refresher courses for providers who have already participated. Citation Format: Srivarshini C. Mohan, Min Yi, Melissa Varon, Reina Guerrero, Toma S. Omofoye, Bayu Brahma, Kabisa Mwala, Kathleen Schmeler, Ana Paula Correa Refinetti. Impact of Breast Cancer Screening Workshops in Indonesia and Zambia [abstract]. In: Proceedings of the 13th Annual Symposium on Global Cancer Research; 2025 Sep 16. Philadelphia (PA): AACR; Cancer Epidemiol Biomarkers Prev 2025;34(12_Suppl):Abstract nr 76.