Breast self-examination among female students in tertiary institutions in a nigerian city

The breast self-examination (BSE) of 690 female students in two tertiary institutions of a cosmopolitan city was investigated. The students were interviewed about their BSE practices including variables that might have influenced their BSE behavior. Results revealed that although 84.6 percent of the respondents were aware of BSE, 65.1 percent did not know the correct step and sequence of BSE. While respondents attitudinal disposition to BSE was generally favorable, only 11.6 percent of the respondents correctly practiced BSE in the last six months and standing before the mirror position was the most popular technique employed (29.6%). In addition, previous breast problems were found to affect BSE but not history of breast cancer in the family. Of the 234 respondents (33.9%) who had never practiced BSE, 23 percent attributed it to lack of knowledge and 18 percent felt it was not important. Based on these findings we recommend that school based BSE educational programs should be organized with the participation of student and non-student associations.