(Adventist University of Africa, School of Postgraduate Studies, 2019-04) Adams, Patsy Ago
Breast cancer is now ranked the most common cancer worldwide, increasing
from 1.7 million incident cases in 2005 to 2.4 million cases in 2015. Both early
detection and treatment have been shown to be the most effective methods to address
the impact of this devastating disease. This study assessed the determinants of breast
cancer awareness and practice of breast cancer screening among women in the
Tamale, Ghana. A cross-sectional survey of 396 adult women, chosen by stratified
random sampling was undertaken using a questionnaire. Results showed that the
majority of the respondents were below 40 years of age (75.5%). Almost all
participants (99.0%) had heard of breast cancer (awareness). Interestingly, the
majority (51.3%) knows the cause of breast cancer to be bacteria. The most practiced
method of screening was breast self-examination (86.4%), clinical breast examination
and mammogram had 77.3%. We found that 93.4% of the population respectively never practiced either. Age, religious affiliations and ethnicities were seen to have
statistically significant relations to awareness and practice.