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Study to Assess the Knowledge and Attitude Regarding Breast Cancer Among Adolescents in Selected Degree Colleges

Sujata Japannavar, Sujata Vijaykumar

Abstract


Background: Cancer is increase in the numbers and growth of immature cells in the body, these cells can arise from any part of the body, and breast cancer is the immature growth of the cells in the breast parenchyma. The incidence of breast cancer is similar in both the genders, the prognosis and management of breast cancer is fruitful when the diagnosis is done in the early stage, the knowledge of cancer of breast will bring awareness among population and help in early detection and better management. Adolescents are most vulnerable for breast cancer, the knowledge of breast cancer will help them to manage cancer in therapeutic manner, hence the present study aims to assess the knowledge and attitude of adolescents studying in degree colleges so as to plan an educational program to bring awareness to them. Methodology: A descriptive study designed to assess the knowledge of adolescents regarding breast cancer, total 124 adolescents were selected by simple random selection from selected degree colleges, A structured questionnaire assessed for content validity index and reliability was used to collect the data on knowledge and attitude. The collected data was analyzed through differential and inferential statistics for level of knowledge using SPSS version 18.0. Results: The study found that the knowledge and attitude of adolescents were poor regarding breast cancer, few of them had moderate knowledge and none of them had adequate and good knowledge and attitude regarding breast cancer. Conclusion: the present study was designed to assess the knowledge and attitude of adolescents regarding breast cancer and found that adolescents studying in selected degree colleges had poor knowledge and attitude; the study recommends that the educational program is essential and would bring the awareness and improve the knowledge and attitude of adolescents towards breast cancer.


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References


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