Interventional education methods for increasing women's participation in breast cancer screening program

Abstract

The purpose of this study was to evaluate the impact of the three methods of education-individual, individual with an educational brochure for spouses, and group-on participation on breast cancer screening in Turkey. A total of 550 home visits were made and 446 women were interviewed to accrue 327 women for the study, 26.7 % of whom reported receiving a screening mammogram within the past 2 years. Participants were divided into one of the three educational groups, and following the educational session, they were invited to attend a breast cancer screening program. The results indicated that the decision to have a screening mammogram was influenced by the method of education and the knowledge score. Women, who were educated, within a group scored the highest. These results demonstrate that group education is an effective method of increasing breast cancer knowledge and screening awareness.