Background: Breast cancer is the second leading cause of death in women in the world. It can emerge at any age, but women above the age of 40 are more commonly affected.
Objective: To assess the public awareness of women toward breast cancer and the methods of screening, and to determine the relationship between the level of awareness with different sociodemographic factors.
Methods: This cross-sectional study was conducted among the women of Tabuk, Saudi Arabia, via a nonprobability sampling technique. Data collection was carried out through an online self-administered questionnaire.
Results: A total of 431 women were included in this study. Almost 40% were aged 18-30 years. The mean awareness score of the participants was 17.3 ± 3.5 (SD) out of a total of 24 points. More than half of the females revealed good awareness (52.7%). In addition, about 72.6% of the women knew that breast cancer is very common and most of them admitted that different methods of screening are not harmful but useful. Breast lumps was most frequently recognized symptom of breast cancer. Furthermore, significant associations were found between the level of awareness and age, marital status, occupational status, and age of menarche.
Conclusion: The results showed an intermediate level of breast cancer awareness and screening methods. However, this level is still insufficient. Therefore, educational interventions are recommended to provide awareness of breast cancer. The above-listed associated factors should be considered while applying these interventions.
Key words: Breast cancer, awareness, screening, cancer, oncology
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