Effects of a culturally sensitive breast self-examination intervention

The purpose of this study was to examine the effects of a culturally sensitive breast self-examination (BSE) program on the frequency and proficiency of BSE practices among African American women, ages 20 to 40 years. Phase I, qualitative, used focus groups to refine components for a BSE program. Phase II, quasi-experimental, assigned 89 African American women to treatment and comparison treatment groups. The dependent variables were BSE frequency and proficiency (technique and lump detection). Data were analyzed (n = 71) using descriptive and paired t test statistics. The culturally sensitive program did not increase BSE frequency more than the comparison program. Women in both groups made significant improvement.