ASSESSMENT OF THE PRACTICE OF BREAST SELF-EXAMINATION AND ASSOCIATED FACTORS AMONG HEALTH SCIENCE FEMALE STUDENTS OF AMBO UNIVERSITY: CROSS SECTIONAL STUDY

Background: Breast Self-Examination is process whereby women examine their breasts regularly to detect any abnormal swelling or lumps in order to seek prompt medical attention. Breast cancer is the most prevalent cancer among women globally and the second commonest cancer overall. The aim of this study was to assess practice of breast self-examination and associated factors among Health science female students at Ambo University in 2019. Methodology: - Institutional based cross-sectional survey was carried out among Health science female students at Ambo University in 2019. Data was collected by using a pre tested and pretested self-administered questionnaires. The response was systematically tabulated and analyzed using SPSS version 20, and explanations were given separately. Result- A total of 150 respondents participated in the study, of these 80 (53.3%) of them had good knowledge and only 67(44.7%) of the respondents had practiced BSE before. Among study participants whose families had breast cancer, practice BSE 2.12 times more than study participants whose families didn’t have his tory of breast cancer (AOR=2.12; 95% CI, 1.09–3.95, P=0.044). Those who had good knowledge toward BSE were 5.5 times more likely to practice BSE than those who had poor knowledge (AOR=9.5; 95% CI, 5.5–18.8, P=0.002). Conclusions- The overall knowledge of female students towards breast self-examination was 62%. This study showed that only 67(44.7%) of the study participants ever practiced BSE. The independeent predictors of breast self examination was family history of breast cancer and knowledge how to perform breast self examination.