Background: Breast cancer is a major challenge for public health in Morocco. It is by far the most common cancer in women and accounts for 38.1% of all new cancer cases in women, with an age-standardized incidence rate of 45.6 per 100,000 women years. The estimated number of deaths from this cancer was 2878 in 2012 and a standardized mortality rate of 18 per 100 000 women.
Objective: The objective of this study was to describe the
knowledge, attitudes and practices of nurses working in the basic healthcare
networks in Morocco regarding breast cancer. It also aimed to identify the
associated factors with their knowledge level of breast cancer risk factors.
Methodology: It was a cross-sectional study on nurses working in
the basic health care networks (BHCN) in Morocco. Nurses present at the survey
moment and having given their oral consent were included in the study. A
self-administered questionnaire was used for data collection. The analysis was
performed with Version 7 of Epi-info software.
Results: The mean age of participants was 45.34±10.83 years and
95.5% of them were female. Here, 91.6% had received training on the prevention
of cancers, 77.2% routinely advised the practice of breast self-examination.
The result showed that 87.0% had a knowledge score≥ 8 on the Risk Factors. Only
9.0% of nurses systematically did a clinical breast exam.
Great awareness of breast cancer risk factors stood out as a
contributing factor to the systematic practice of clinical breast examination
of women at risk (p = < 0.013; OR=2.99; 95% CI = [1.21; 7.39]).
Conclusion: Breast cancer still remains a major public health
problem in Morocco despite the means put in place to effectively combat this
disease. This study found that nurses had in general a good level of knowledge
about breast cancer’s risk factors (87.0%) and a good attitude. It has also
highlighted that few nurses systematically performed clinical breast
examinations, even for women at risk. It is essential to conduct ongoing,
targeted, and regular training sessions on breast cancer, as these healthcare
professionals play a significant role in reducing the incidence of this
disease, and their practice largely depends on their level of knowledge. It is
also important to sensitize the Moroccan community, especially women about the
importance of breast self-examination in the early diagnosis of breast cancer
by organizing awareness campaigns, especially in areas where the incidence is
highest.
Author
(s) Details
A S Diarra
National Center for Scientific and Technological Research, Bamako, Mali.
S EI Fakir
Department of Epidemiology and Public Health, Faculty of Medicine,
University Sidi Mohammed Ben Abdellah, Fez, Morocco.
A Najdi
Department of Epidemiology and Public Health, Faculty of Medicine,
University Sidi Mohammed Ben Abdellah, Fez, Morocco.
B M Traoré
Department of Epidemiology and Public Health, Faculty of Medicine,
University Sidi Mohammed Ben Abdellah, Fez, Morocco.
N Tachfouti
Department of Epidemiology and Public Health, Faculty of Medicine,
University Sidi Mohammed Ben Abdellah, Fez, Morocco.
M Berraho
Department of Epidemiology and Public Health, Faculty of Medicine,
University Sidi Mohammed Ben Abdellah, Fez, Morocco.
Y C Khazraji
Fondation Lalla Salma Prevention and Treatment of Cancers, Rabat, Morocco.
L Abousselham
Direction of Population, Ministry of Health, Rabat, Morocco.
L Belakhel
Director of Epidemiology and Fight Against Diseases (DELM), Ministry of
Health, Rabat, Morocco.
R Bekkalia
Fondation Lalla Salma Prevention and Treatment of Cancers, Rabat, Morocco.
C Nejjari
Department of Epidemiology and Public Health, Faculty of Medicine,
University Sidi Mohammed Ben Abdellah, Fez, Morocco.
Please see the book here:- https://doi.org/10.9734/bpi/dhrni/v10/3023
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