Promoting breast health among female adolescents: a comparative analysis of the effects of two didactic tools on knowledge and practice regarding breast self-examination in Southwest Nigeria.

BACKGROUND: Teaching effective methods for breast self-examination (BSE) to adolescent females is essential for promoting early detection and improving outcomes in breast cancer management. This study therefore aimed to compare two pedagogical tools for teaching BSE among adolescent females. METHODS: A quasi-experimental design with a group for pre- and post-intervention tests was adopted. The sample included 970 female senior secondary school class I-III students. The Yamane formula was used to determine a sample size of 276. Pre- and post-intervention data were collected using an observation checklist for practice and a validated questionnaire with a Cronbach's alpha coefficient of 0.76 for knowledge of BSE. A proportionate stratified random sampling technique was used to determine the number of participants for each group. Among the 276 participants, 161 were taught the traditional method (TM), i.e., a lecture, and 115 were taught using the modern method (MM) by watching a podcast that contained BSE lessons. Post-intervention data were collected after six weeks. The data were analysed using descriptive and inferential statistics at a 5% level of significance to compare the effectiveness of the methods. RESULTS: The findings of this study showed that the participants' mean ages across the two methods were 15.49 ± 1.65 and 15.43 ± 1.40 years for the traditional method (TM) and modern method (MM), respectively. Pre-intervention mean BSE knowledge scores in both the TM and MM groups were 8.19 ± 3.17 and 8.31 ± 2.39, respectively, and BSE practice scores were 7.17 ± 2.48 and 6.44 ± 2.75, respectively. Post-intervention knowledge mean scores in both the TM and MM groups increased to 13.75 ± 4.09 and 16.92 ± 2.91, respectively, and post-intervention practice scores increased to 13.06 ± 2.74 and 15.68 ± 3.12, respectively. CONCLUSION: This study revealed that both teaching methods were effective at teaching breast self-examination among female adolescents; nevertheless, modern methods are more effective at teaching breast self-examination among female adolescents.

Awareness, knowledge and practices of breast cancer screening measures among female postgraduate students of a Nigerian Federal University: a cross-sectional study.

INTRODUCTION: Annually, over a million new cases of breast cancer results in about 375,000 deaths worldwide. Recently, the burden of the disease has been on the increase in Nigeria and most cases present in hospitals late when cure becomes elusive. The choice of postgraduate students for this study was as a result of their potential to impact positively on the rest of the population by the virtue of their present or future positions. This forms the basis for this study. METHODS: This cross-sectional descriptive study recruited 278 female postgraduate students of the University of Ibadan, Nigeria as participants using purposive sampling technique. Data were collected with the aid of a validated structured questionnaire. The research protocol was approved by the UI/UCH Ethical Committee. Both descriptive and inferential statistics were used for data analysis with the aid of Statistical Package of Social Sciences (SPSS) version 16. RESULTS: The students' mean age was 27 years ± 5.1 Std. Most of the postgraduate students were aware of the breast self examination (BSE), clinical breast examination (CBE) and mammography through health workers. Out of 159 respondents that claimed to be practicing BSE, 118 (58.4%) used to practice it occasionally. Out of 53 postgraduate students that had CBE done, 7.4% had CBE done by nurse/midwives. Among the students 11.4% had good knowledge of BSE. Similarly, 33.7% had good knowledge of breast cancer risk factors. Besides, the higher the level of knowledge of breast cancer the more the possibility that postgraduate students will practice BSE (Chi-square = 15.169, df = 4, P-value = 0.004). CONCLUSION: It is suggested that health workers should reach students within the academic communities with effective breast cancer prevention campaign programmes. Besides, both printed and electronic media should be used for dissemination of health education/information to ensure wider coverage.

Return for prenatal care and childbirth services among Nigerian women using primary health care facilities.

Aim: The study assessed the return for prenatal care and childbirth services among Nigerian women using primary health care facilities. Design: A descriptive cross-sectional approach was employed for the study. Methods: A total of 730 participants randomly recruited systematically from 21 purposively selected primary health care facilities in Ibadan, Nigeria were studied. A questionnaire and a checklist were used for data collection. The collection of data spanned three months (April to June, 2014). The data were analysed descriptively and inferentially while the results were presented in frequency tables. Results: The women's mean age was 28 ± 5.3 years. Out of the 730 women studied, 92.6% received prenatal care. The mean difference between the number of prenatal care registration and the number of childbirths was 76.5. Poor environmental hygiene of facilities, statistically significant cost of services and non-availability of 24-hr service were implicated for dissatisfaction with care received by the women and consequent poor return rate for childbirth.