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.