The effects of education program on knowledge and intention of breast cancer screening in Taiwan

The purpose of this study was to investigate the effects of a breast cancer screening educational program on women's knowledge and intention to seek breast cancer screening in Taiwan.

This study describes the knowledge and intention of breast cancer screening changes during the period pre and post group education. A pre-test and post-test were used in both the experimental and the control groups. A convenience sampling was used. Two structured questionnaires were used.

The mean knowledge of breast cancer screening scores (pre-test and post-test) of the experimental group participants were 12.6 and 14.0. Then the mean knowledge of breast cancer screening scores (pre-test and post-test) of the control group participants were 11.8 and 12.1. The mean intention of breast cancer screening scores (pre-test and post-test) of the experimental group participants were 11.4 and 13.5. And the mean intention of breast cancer screening scores (pre-test and post-test) of the control group participants were 11.6 and 12.4. An independent-t test was applied to examine the differences among the two groups, revealing that the average post-test knowledge score differ significantly between the two groups (t=4.18, p<.00); and the post-test intention also demonstrate a marked statistical difference (t=2.07, p<.05). A paired-t test was applied to examine the differences of each group, revealing that the total average scores of the experimental group participants on the knowledge of breast cancer screening scale clearly differ statistically (t=-5.54, p<.00); and the pre-test and post-test intention testing also demonstrate a marked statistical difference (t=-7.70, p<.00).

These findings are helpful in understanding the knowledge and intention of breast cancer screening changes during the period pre and post group education. It is expected that these results can offer a reference for clinical breast cancer prevention.