Breast Cancer and Mammography: Current Knowledge, Attitudes and Practices of Female Health Workers in a Tertiary Health Institution in Northern Nigeria

Breast cancer is one of the most common causes of cancer related deaths among women worldwide, accounting for 31% of cancers among women and 19% of deaths among women are due to cancer. Early detection of breast cancer and early presentation for management has been shown to reduce mortality rates. This descriptive cross-sectional study involving 100 female health workers made up of 30 doctors and 70 nurses was carried out at the Usmanu Danfodiyo University Teaching hospital, Sokoto .The study is aimed at assessing the knowledge of female health workers about breast cancer and their attitude and practice of mammography. A total of 67% of the study subjects had adequate knowledge of breast cancer and its risk factors with 80% of the female doctors having better knowledge compared to the nurses. Majority, (84%) of the respondents were aware of mammography as a way of detecting early cancer of the breast and only 9% of them had undergone the procedure in the last one year. The commonest reason for not undergoing the procedure was that they were not aware of the procedure being carried out in the study centre. The low mammographic screening rate recorded in the study portrays a bad omen for the fight against cancer of the breast and this reinforces the need for educational intervention to increase the awareness and uptake of mammographic screening among the study population.