ABSTRACT

The study was performed in order to determine the behavior of college students studying in health related departments for the early diagnosis of breast cancer.

This study is a cross sectional study. 336 female students studying in School of Nursing and School of Health Sciences at a foundation university in Istanbul were included. A questionnaire directed to collect data regarding the participants’ socio-demographic characteristics and their behavior on the early diagnosis of breast cancer was used. Data were evaluated by descriptive statistics and chi-square test.

The mean age of students was 21.26±1.94, and 30.7% of the participants majored in nutrition, 29.2% in nursing, 22.9% in midwifery, 17.3% in physical therapy and rehabilitation departments. It was determined that 53.3% of the students made regular breast self-examination (BSE), and 88.1% did not get a clinical breast examination (CBE) within the last year. It was noticed that students who had BSE training, made more BSE and CBE as compared to those who did not get any education. Students with family history of breast cancer was performing more BSE that those without a family history. It was identified that students with BSE training and family history of breast cancer used BSE at a higher rate.

It was identified that students with BSE training and family history of breast cancer usage of techniques to perform a BSE at a higher rate.