ISSN : 2663-2187

IMPACT OF A COMMUNITY-BASED NURSING INTERVENTION ON KNOWLEDGE, ATTITUDE, AND PRACTICE REGARDING BREAST CANCER PREVENTION AND EARLY DETECTION AMONG WOMEN IN A RURAL AREA

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Sr. Lucy Thomas. P , Dr. G. Sheefna
» doi: 10.48047/AFJBS.6.13.2024.26-39

Abstract

The current study evaluated the impact of a community-based nursing strategy on the knowledge, attitude, and practice regarding the prevention and early detection of breast cancer among women in a rural area of Coimbatore. The study's conceptual framework was based on Rosenstock’s and Becker’s Health Belief Model. The objectives were to: 1) assess baseline knowledge, attitude, and practice regarding breast cancer prevention and early detection; 2) evaluate the effect of the community-based nursing strategy on these variables; and 3) determine the association between knowledge, attitude, practice, and selected sociodemographic variables. A pre-experimental, one- group pretest-posttest design was employed, involving 40 women aged 20-65 years from the Community Health Center (CHC). Baseline data on knowledge, attitude, and practice were collected during the pretest, followed by the administration of a structured teaching program and an instructional module on the same day. A posttest was conducted four weeks later using the same instruments. The effectiveness of the intervention was evaluated using the Wilcoxon signed-rank test, which revealed a statistically significant improvement in knowledge (z=5.52), attitude (z=4.94), and practice (z=5.56) related to breast cancer prevention and early detection (p<.001). Further analysis indicated a statistically significant association between women's knowledge and their age (p<.05), education level (p<.05), and monthly income (p<.01). Additionally, there was a significant association between attitude and monthly income (p<.05). These findings suggest that the community-based nursing strategy significantly enhanced the knowledge, attitude, and practice of the participants regarding breast cancer prevention and early detection.

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