KNOWLEDGE AND PREVALENCE OF THE ADOPTION OF BREAST CANCER SCREENING PRACTICES AMONG FEMALE LAW STUDENTS OF OSUN STATE...

Area of Science:

• Oncology
• Public Health
• Women's Health

Background:

• Breast cancer (BC) poses a significant health risk to women of reproductive age, particularly university students.
• Lifestyle factors like poor diet, inactivity, and low screening practice uptake increase BC risk.
• Early detection through Breast Self-Examination (BSE) and Clinical Breast Self-Examination (CBE) is cost-effective but underutilized.

Purpose of the Study:

• To assess the knowledge and adoption of BC screening practices among female law students at Osun State University, Nigeria.
• To identify potential barriers and facilitators for BC screening in this demographic.
• To inform targeted health interventions for this vulnerable population.

Main Methods:

• A descriptive cross-sectional study was conducted using a researcher-designed, semi-structured, self-administered questionnaire.
• 250 female law students were recruited purposively.
• Knowledge and practice scores for BC screening were calculated and analyzed using descriptive and inferential statistics (p=0.05).

Main Results:

• 98.0% of students demonstrated good knowledge of BC screening practices.
• However, only 40% actively adopted screening practices.
• Regular BSE was performed by 44.0%, and 36.0% utilized CBE. Associations were found between knowledge/practices and age, study level, and religion (p<0.05).

Conclusions:

• A significant gap exists between high knowledge and low practice of BC screening among female law students.
• Tailored health information and educational strategies are needed to promote the adoption of screening measures.
• Interventions should consider demographic factors like age, study level, and religion to enhance screening uptake.