Assessment of Knowledge of Iraqi Women toward Early Detection of Breast Cancer and Risk Factors in Diyala Province-Iraq

Abstract

Background: Breast cancer is one of the most frequently reported cancers in Iraq, accounting for about 30% of all reported cases in the Iraqi population, and is the leading reason of death among females.

Objectives: This study assessed participants' knowledge of breast cancer based on risk factors, outcomes, and age for breast cancer by educational attainment.

Methods: Data were collected from 366 women in Diyala utilising a questionnaire that included questions about demographics and risk factors for breast cancer. The categorized data were analysed using Chi-square and Fisher exact (for small number categorized data) tests. The differences between proportions were analysed by using the difference between proportions or percentages test. A p-value of ≤ 0.05 is a cut-off significant level.

Results: The outcomes of this questionnaire demonstrated that the characteristics of the participants. Participants are approximately equal in the age distribution. The majority of the participants were highly educated at the university level, which accounted for 64.9%, and those with postgraduate studies accounted for 25%. According to occupation, 65.2% of the participants were employees, while the percentage of students in this survey accounted for 14.6%. Married women constituted 65.1% of the participants, while widowed and separated women accounted for 4.2%, and 3.9%, respectively.

Conclusion: Knowledge about breast cancer is deficient despite a higher percentage of educated participants. A large percent of Iraqi breast cancer patients still locally advanced disease at the time of diagnosis, justifying the need for community education campaigns to strengthen our national early detection program. Health services failed to send messages about breast cancer in society. Therefore, media played an important role in sending messages about breast cancer, but it seems misleading as the participants had no idea about the epidemiology and risk factors of breast cancer.