The effects of an instructional audiotape on breast self-examination proficiency

This study evaluated the effects of a refresher instructional audiotape on breast self-examination (BSE) proficiency 6 months after BSE had been trained to criteria. Subjects (n = 54), who were undergraduate women, were trained in group sessions to perform BSE competently. Subjects were randomly assigned to one of two "maintenance" groups: tape or no tape. Tape-group subjects received a BSE tape at the end of their training session. Subjects in both groups received monthly mailed prompts. At 6 months posttraining, subjects were videotaped in a clinic environment while performing BSE and 10 components of the exam subsequently were evaluated. The results indicated that tape-group subjects showed significantly better performance than controls on four components, including amount of breast area examined. The tape had no effect on BSE frequency. The tape strategy may be valuable in maintaining proficiency once BSE is trained.