Seeking an effective strategy for promoting breast self-examination among women

Breast self-examination (BSE) may be effective in the early detection of breast cancer, but women must be aware of both the benefit of the procedure and the need for regular practice. The purpose of this study was to ascertain the effects of modeling plus rehearsal with respect to knowledge, attitudes, and subsequent frequency of BSE among women. The sample for this study consisted of 292 college students randomly assigned to one of two groups and exposed to: a facilitator-conducted program using modeling plus rehearsal (treatment group); or pamphlets addressing breast cancer and BSE (comparison group). A posttest-only comparison-group design was used. At completion of the programs, subjects responded to knowledge and attitude inventories. Three months later, a questionnaire requesting information on BSE practice was mailed to all subjects. Performance on the knowledge inventory indicated no group differences (P = 0.05). However, there were significant differences between groups in practice frequency and in selected attitudes (P less than 0.05). At three-month follow-up, significantly more members of the treatment group indicated practicing BSE at least once since exposure to the educational program. Conclusions support those of earlier investigations and indicate that modeling with rehearsal can be a useful method for promoting the practice of BSE.