Breast Cancer Worry and Associated Factors Among Female University Students: A Cross- Sectional Study

Abstract

Aim: The study aimed to examine of worry level in breast cancer and the factors that might be related to university students. Method: This cross-sectional descriptive research was conducted on 347 female university students. The data was collected using the Descriptive Characteristic Form and Breast Cancer Worry Scale and evaluated with descriptive statistics and binary logistic regression analysis. Results: The mean age of participants is 20.65±2.18 (min-max =18-37), and the mean score of the breast cancer worry scale is 8.24±4.7 (min-max=0-20). 69,5% of students are studying health-related departments, 51% are using the web for medical research, and 13,3% have breast cancer history in their families. It was found that 62% of students had made self-breast examinations at least one time in their life, 12,1% had breast problems, and 26,5% had breast cancer worry. Factors contributing to worry about breast cancer include age (OR = 0.84, p = 0.040), class (OR = 3.85, p = 0.049), social security status (OR = 4.13, p = 0.042), knowing the breast cancer risk factors (OR = 2.24, p = 0.036) and have had a clinical breast examination before (OR = 3.05, p = 0.014). It was determined that those who know breast cancer risk factors are 2.24 times more worried, and those who have had clinical breast examinations are 3.05 times more worried about breast cancer. Conclusion: Examining the research findings reveals the level of breast cancer worry is low among university students. Also, it was found that breast cancer worry is affected by situations like age, social security, knowing the breast cancer risk factors, and having had a clinical breast examination before.