Knowledge on Breast Cancer among College Students

Abstract

Background: Globally, breast cancer is one of the most common cancer among females of age group 15-40 years. India is also one of the leading countries of breast cancer. It is found that incidence rate of breast cancer is higher in less developing countries in comparison to development country. In 2018, worldwide, nearly 2 million new breast cancer cases were diagnosed. Early diagnosis of breast cancer can increase the chance of early case detection and favourable outcomes, resulting in improved survival rates and quality of life of women and is therefore important public health strategy at all settings [2]. Several studies suggests that even though the incidence and mortality of breast cancer have been on the increase, the knowledge and awareness regarding the breast cancer is low among college students. Therefore, this study was conducted to assess knowledge and awareness among college students about breast cancers in Lucknow Materials & Methods: Descriptive research design was selected for this study. Target population includes the female students studying in the selected colleges of Lucknow. 87 female students were selected through non-probability, purposive sampling techniques. Data was gathered using a self-administered semi structured questionnaire. Results: Overall results of this study show that, 34 (39.08%) female students had adequate knowledge, 49 (56.32%) female students had moderately inadequate knowledge, and 04 (4.59%) female students had inadequate knowledge. Conclusion: Findings of this study revealed that knowledge of breast cancer among female college students was inadequate.