Knowledge and intentions of ninth-grade girls after a breast self-examination program

Breast cancer ranks as the second-leading cause of death for women. Until recently the American Cancer Society advocated teaching breast self-examination (BSE) procedures. The Susan G. Komen Breast Cancer Foundation, active in the fight against breast cancer, continues to support educational efforts to teach breast self-examination skills to adolescent girls. Funded by the Komen Foundation, a BSE education program was developed and delivered by health educators at the Hult Health Education Center. The 50-minute program consisted of a PowerPoint slide presentation of breast cancer and BSE facts, and a video demonstration of proper BSE technique. Using a quasi-experimental design, the program was evaluated for changes in knowledge and intention to perform BSE. Ninth-grade girls at four public high schools (n = 255) in Peoria, Ill., were given a pretest to determine their knowledge about breast cancer and breast self-examination. A delayed posttest was administered between five to six weeks later (n = 211). Using the Kruskal-Wallis nonparametric test, girls who participated in the BSE education program (treatment group) recorded a significantly higher overall mean knowledge score than girls who did not participate (comparison group). Those who participated in the program retained that knowledge over a five- to six-week period. Analyses of variance revealed that more girls in the treatment group reported performing BSE in the past month as well as a higher intention to perform BSE in the future.