The effects of teaching breast self-examination: reported confidence and frequency of practise over a six-year period

Breast self-examination (BSE) was taught to 614 women. They were randomly assigned to one of three groups identified as content only, content plus supervised practise on a model with implanted lumps and content plus individual instruction on their own breasts. They were followed for 6 years. Reported frequency of practise and level of confidence increased at a significant level within all groups. The increase persisted at each of four follow-ups. An analysis of variance determined there was no significant difference between groups in the changes in frequency and confidence. Thus, the method of teaching had little impact on the long-range practise of BSE in terms of these two variables. It was observed that 10.8% of the group receiving individual instruction would not accept teaching on their own breasts. Less than 1.5% in each of the other groups would not accept all aspects of the teaching protocol for their respective group. This development should be taken into account in determining whether practise on one's own body is a necessary component of BSE teaching programs.