Effectiveness of three methods of teaching breast self-examination

Abstract

A quasi-experimental design was used in this study to determine if guided practice would result in higher breast cancer knowledge scores, higher breast self-examination (BSE) knowledge scores and higher intent to practice scores then modeling alone or teaching without modeling or guided practice. Fifty-eight women participated in the study. There were 19 women in the guided practice group, 22 in the modeling group and 17 in the control group. A pre-test, post-test format was used. ANCOVA was used to statistically control for the variance in pre-test scores. Descriptive statistics were used to analyze demographic data. The results showed that all methods of teaching resulted in higher breast cancer and BSE knowledge scores and in higher intent to practice scores. There were no statistically significant differences between the groups. Nursing research need to continue in this area to find the most effective method of teaching women breast self-examination.