• Asian Pacific Journal of Cancer Prevention
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• v.14 no.9
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• pp.5539-5542
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• 2013

There is a consensus among researchers about the fact that women should be familiar with their breasts but there is a lot of argument as to how to make them aware of what is normal for them. For over decades breast self examination (BSE) was advocated for the same but as an outcome of work conducted by researchers in various countires a controversy has been raised in the West. In a country like India, where breast cancer screening is not popular and limited resources are available we should question what would be the best strategy to make women familiar with their breasts to facilitate best use of BSE.

• Asian Pacific Journal of Cancer Prevention
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• v.17 no.4
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• pp.2247-2254
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• 2016

Background: The incidence of breast cancer is rising in Oman, and the disease is diagnosed at late stages, when treatment success is limited. Omani women might benefit from better awareness, so that breast cancer can be detected early and treated. This study was conducted to assess Omani women's levels of breast cancer awareness and early detection practice, and explore factors which might influence these levels. Materials and Methods: A mixed methods study was conducted in 2014, including a quantitative survey of 1,372 and a qualitative assessment of 19 Omani women, aged ${\geq}20years$ from five Omani governorates using convenient sampling. Demographic information and scores for awareness levels were used in a multivariate regression model to investigate factors associated with awareness. Thematic analysis and interpretive description were used to analyse the qualitative data. Results: The overall means for early detection and general awareness scores were 0.58 (SD 0.24) and 0.46 (SD 0.21), respectively. General awareness was significantly associated with age, education, income and familiarity with cancer patients (p<0.05), while early detection was significantly associated with age, marital status and education. A majority of women (59.5%) agreed with a belief in 'evil eye' or envy as a risk factor for breast cancer. Women discussed various factors which may empower or inhibit awareness, including the cultural-religion-fatalistic system, personal-familial-environmental system, and healthcare-political-social system. Conclusions: The overall low scores for awareness and early detection, and the survey of local beliefs highlight a severe necessity for a contextually-tailored breast cancer awareness intervention programme in Oman.

• Journal of Korean Academy of Nursing
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• v.51 no.6
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• pp.769-781
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• 2021

Purpose: Health literacy is a significant determinant of health and health behaviors such as cancer screening. Despite its significance, there are limited instruments available to assess health literacy targeting Koreans. The purpose of this study was to test the psychometric properties of Korean translation of a validated health literacy instrument in cancer screening-Korean version of assessment of health literacy in breast and cervical cancer screening (K-AHL-C). Methods: A total of 555 women aged 20~65 participated in the online survey study. Of 52 items addressing five domains included in the original version, we focused on 36 items addressing three key domains closely associated with cancer screening: familiarity, health navigation, and comprehension. Results: During content validation, two items from the health navigation domain were removed, yielding 34 items. Using Rasch analysis and confirmatory factor analysis, we found the evidence of construct validity of K-AHL-C. The Korean version was also significantly correlated with measures of Functional Health Literacy scale, cancer prevention behaviors, and subjective health status, suggesting convergent validities respectively. Finally, K-AHL-C had acceptable reliability coefficients (α) ranging from 0.71 to 0.92 for each domain and the total scale. Conclusion: These psychometric properties support the K-AHL-C is a valid and reliable instrument for measuring Koreans' health literacy in cancer screening. Also it is expected to use the instrument to detect breast and cervical cancer early and improve the screening rate, and ultimately to contribute to the promotion of women's health and women's health nursing practice.

• The Korean Journal of Cytopathology
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• v.7 no.1
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• pp.12-22
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• 1996

Fine needle aspiration(FNA) has been quite successful in identifying benign and malignant breast lesions, but a "gray zone" exists. A total of 697 FNAs of breast were performed at Korea Cancer Center Hospital for a period of one year. One hundred and eleven of the 697 FNAs were diagnosed as atypical or suspicious for malignancy. Among them, we reviewed 74 FNAs, un which histologic diagnoses were made, and applied cytologic grading system proposed by Masood et al (1990) to evaluate the usefulness of this system in minimizing the size of gray zone. Technical problem was responsible for equivocal diagnoses in 19 FNAs Of the remaining 55 FNAs, 18 were benign and 37 were malignant. Among benign conditions, fibroadenoma(5 cases) and fibrocystic disease with fibroadenomatous feature(3 cases) constituted the largest groups. The majority of malignant conditions were infiltrating ductal carcinoma(29 cases), however, those low grade carcinomas Including tubular carcinoma(3 oases), cribriform carcinoma(2 cases), and mucinous carcinoma(2 cases) occupied a relatively large proportion Cytologic grading system was quite useful in minimizing the size of gray lone. The scores of 27 out of 29 usual infiltrating ductal carcinomas belonged to the group of cytologic malignancy, how-ever, only 2 out of 7 low grade carcinomas got scores of malignancy FNA from fibroadenoma or fibrocystic disease with fibroadenomatous features showed a tendency toward high scores. Experience of the cytopathologist and familiarity with cytologic alteration in breast disease cannot be overemphasized.

• Journal of Preventive Medicine and Public Health
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• v.53 no.5
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• pp.353-361
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• 2020

Objectives: An inadequate understanding of infertility can affect individuals' self-efficacy and ability to perform self-care; thus, reproductive health education is an important part of infertility treatment. The present qualitative study aimed to explore the experiences and educational needs of infertile women with regard to reproductive health. Methods: In this qualitative study, we utilized a content analysis approach. Purposive sampling was performed to ensure maximum diversity. In total, 23 individual interviews were conducted with 20 Iranian women with infertility and 3 key informants between July 2018 and February 2019 in northern Iran. Data were collected through in-depth, semi-structured interviews. Data analysis was performed using a conventional content analysis approach. Results: Reproductive health education needs were identified by analyzing interview data from 4 main categories: familiarity with the fertility process and preparation for pregnancy, recognition of infertility and expectations around seeking treatment, recognition of preventive actions associated with reproductive health, and correction of false beliefs. Recognizing the causes of infertility and understanding the different approaches to infertility treatment are among the most important educational needs of infertile women. The potential for neglect of health-related issues due to concerns about fertility and the maternal experience necessitates education about preventive measures for cervical cancer, breast cancer, and sexually transmitted infections. Correcting misconceptions, including those related to contraceptives and traditional medicine, can also help promote reproductive health. Conclusions: In infertile women, the educational needs associated with reproductive health are multifaceted. Satisfying these needs can help achieve optimal treatment results and promote reproductive health.