Health beliefs and breast self-examination among undergraduate female students in public universities in Klang Valley, Malaysia

Background: Breast cancer is the most frequently occurring cancer in women and the most common cause of cancer death worldwide. Materials and Methods: A cross-sectional study was carried out among 792 female undergraduate students in public universities in Klang Valley, Malaysia, from January to Apr...

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Main Authors: Akhtari-Zavare, Mehrnoosh, Juni, Muhamad Hanafiah, Ismail, Irmi Zarina, Md Said, Salmiah, Abd Latiff, Latiffah
Format: Article
Published: Asian Pacific Organization for Cancer Prevention 2015
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author Akhtari-Zavare, Mehrnoosh
Juni, Muhamad Hanafiah
Ismail, Irmi Zarina
Md Said, Salmiah
Abd Latiff, Latiffah
author_facet Akhtari-Zavare, Mehrnoosh
Juni, Muhamad Hanafiah
Ismail, Irmi Zarina
Md Said, Salmiah
Abd Latiff, Latiffah
author_sort Akhtari-Zavare, Mehrnoosh
collection UPM
description Background: Breast cancer is the most frequently occurring cancer in women and the most common cause of cancer death worldwide. Materials and Methods: A cross-sectional study was carried out among 792 female undergraduate students in public universities in Klang Valley, Malaysia, from January to April 2011. Data were collected using a validated questionnaire developed for this study. Results: The mean age of respondents was 21.7±1.2 years. Most of them were single (96.8%), Malay (91.9%) and 150 (19.6%) claimed they had practiced BSE. There was a significant differences between performers and non-performers correlated to age, marital status, check breast by doctor, and being trained about BSE. Performers had lower mean scores for perceived barriers and susceptibility and higher mean score for confidence. Stepwise logistic regression analysis yielded four significant predictor variables. Conclusions: Overall our findings indicate that the practice of BSE while perceived as being important is not frequently practiced among female in Malaysia. Targeted education should be implemented to improve early detection of breast cancer.
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institution Universiti Putra Malaysia
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spelling upm.eprints-378322015-09-17T13:30:12Z http://psasir.upm.edu.my/id/eprint/37832/ Health beliefs and breast self-examination among undergraduate female students in public universities in Klang Valley, Malaysia Akhtari-Zavare, Mehrnoosh Juni, Muhamad Hanafiah Ismail, Irmi Zarina Md Said, Salmiah Abd Latiff, Latiffah Background: Breast cancer is the most frequently occurring cancer in women and the most common cause of cancer death worldwide. Materials and Methods: A cross-sectional study was carried out among 792 female undergraduate students in public universities in Klang Valley, Malaysia, from January to April 2011. Data were collected using a validated questionnaire developed for this study. Results: The mean age of respondents was 21.7±1.2 years. Most of them were single (96.8%), Malay (91.9%) and 150 (19.6%) claimed they had practiced BSE. There was a significant differences between performers and non-performers correlated to age, marital status, check breast by doctor, and being trained about BSE. Performers had lower mean scores for perceived barriers and susceptibility and higher mean score for confidence. Stepwise logistic regression analysis yielded four significant predictor variables. Conclusions: Overall our findings indicate that the practice of BSE while perceived as being important is not frequently practiced among female in Malaysia. Targeted education should be implemented to improve early detection of breast cancer. Asian Pacific Organization for Cancer Prevention 2015 Article PeerReviewed Akhtari-Zavare, Mehrnoosh and Juni, Muhamad Hanafiah and Ismail, Irmi Zarina and Md Said, Salmiah and Abd Latiff, Latiffah (2015) Health beliefs and breast self-examination among undergraduate female students in public universities in Klang Valley, Malaysia. Asian Pacific Journal of Cancer Prevention, 16 (9). pp. 4019-4023. ISSN 1513-7368 http://www.apocpcontrol.org/page/apjcp_issues_view.php?sid=Entrez:PubMed&id=pmid:25987079&key=2015.16.9.4019
spellingShingle Akhtari-Zavare, Mehrnoosh
Juni, Muhamad Hanafiah
Ismail, Irmi Zarina
Md Said, Salmiah
Abd Latiff, Latiffah
Health beliefs and breast self-examination among undergraduate female students in public universities in Klang Valley, Malaysia
title Health beliefs and breast self-examination among undergraduate female students in public universities in Klang Valley, Malaysia
title_full Health beliefs and breast self-examination among undergraduate female students in public universities in Klang Valley, Malaysia
title_fullStr Health beliefs and breast self-examination among undergraduate female students in public universities in Klang Valley, Malaysia
title_full_unstemmed Health beliefs and breast self-examination among undergraduate female students in public universities in Klang Valley, Malaysia
title_short Health beliefs and breast self-examination among undergraduate female students in public universities in Klang Valley, Malaysia
title_sort health beliefs and breast self examination among undergraduate female students in public universities in klang valley malaysia
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