Factors associated with awareness of breast cancer among women of reproductive age in Lesotho: a national population-based cross-sectional survey.

BACKGROUND: Breast cancer is a leading cause of cancer mortality and a major public health problem. The growing number of breast cancer-related deaths has been largely attributed to a lack of awareness of the disease among women. Whilst there have been frequent campaigns promoting breast cancer awareness, evidence suggests that women still lack awareness. Therefore, this study assessed the prevalence and factors associated with the awareness of breast cancer among women of reproductive age in Lesotho. METHODS: We used population-based cross-sectional data from the 2014 Lesotho Demographic and Health survey. A total of 6,620 women of reproductive age were included in the analysis. The outcome variable was awareness of breast cancer. Women who heard about breast cancer were considered to be aware of the disease. Multilevel binary logistic regression models were fitted to determine the factors associated with breast cancer awareness among women. RESULTS: The level of awareness of breast cancer was 86.8% (95% CI: 85.5, 87.9). Women aged 45-49 years [adjusted odds ratio (AOR) = 2.87, 95% confidence interval (CI): 1.83, 4.48], married women [AOR = 1.51 (95% CI: 1.19, 1.93)], and women with higher educational level [AOR = 12.56, (95% CI: 4.35, 36.28)] were more likely to be aware of breast cancer. Additionally, women who listened to the radio at least once a week [AOR = 1.96, (95% CI: 1.63, 2.37)], those who read newspapers or magazines [AOR = 1.91 (95% CI: 1.48, 2.46)] and women in the wealthiest group [AOR = 2.55, (95% CI: 1.67, 3.89)] had higher odds of breast cancer awareness. However, women who were in rural areas were less likely [AOR = 0.63, (95% CI: 0.47, 0.84)] to be aware of breast cancer than those in urban areas. CONCLUSION: The level of awareness of breast cancer among women of reproductive age in Lesotho was extremely low. We recommend that policymakers, clinicians, and public health practitioners should consider the factors identified in this study when designing and developing intervention programs to improve the awareness of breast cancer among women in Lesotho.

Leveraging breast cancer screening to promote timely detection, diagnosis and treatment among women in sub-Saharan Africa: a scoping review protocol.

INTRODUCTION: Female breast cancer is now the most often diagnosed cancer in the world. Breast cancer screening aims to reduce mortalities related to cancer, and morbidity associated with advanced stages of the disease, through timely detection in asymptomatic women. This study aims to conduct a comprehensive assessment and evaluation of the evidence on the factors that influence the provision and uptake of breast cancer screening among women in sub-Saharan Africa (SSA). METHODS AND ANALYSIS: PubMed, Web of Science, EMBASE and the Cumulative Index to Nursing and Allied Health Literature including Google Scholar will be searched to identify published studies on barriers and facilitators to breast cancer screening from January 2010 to 2021. Two reviewers will independently assess the quality of all the included studies using the Mixed Methods Appraisal Tool version 2018. We envisage that this review will adduce evidence on common barriers and facilitators to breast cancer screening in SSA. Identifying these barriers and facilitators will help guide the initialisation of effective interventions that will improve breast cancer screening uptake among women in SSA. This review will also guide future research in developing, implementing and evaluating appropriate interventions tailored toward increasing breast cancer screening uptake. ETHICS AND DISSEMINATION: Ethics approval for this protocol is not required since it does not involve collecting data from human participants. The outcomes of this study will be published in a peer-reviewed journal.