Association between cancer stigma and breast self examination among nurses

Abstract

Breast cancer is the primary cause of cancer mortality, worldwide, and in Indonesian women. Late stage cancer is an important predictor of cancer mortality. Breast self-examination (BSE) is recommended as a way to potentially allow for early detection of any breast anomalies. A previous study found that only 39.5% of nurses reported practicing BSE on a regular monthly basis. Cancer-related stigma among non-cancer patients is an important predictor of cancer screening. This study aimed to identify the relationship between cancer stigma and BSE among nurses. The study applied a cross-sectional analytic design. A total of 88 nurses were selected via random sampling. The Chi-square test was used to analyze the data. The results showed that there is a significant association between cancer stigma and BSE among nurses (p < 0.001; α ≤ 0.05). This finding implies that cancer stigma among nurses needs to be minimized to increase adherence to BSE. Programs for reducing cancer stigma can improve adherence to breast cancer screening methods.