Vocational school students’ beliefs and attitudes towards breast cancer

Abstract

Aim: The aim of this study was to determine vocational school students’ beliefs and attitudes towards breast cancer.Materials and Methods: The descriptive study was conducted with 255 female students at Kastamonu University Taşköprü Vocational School in the 2018-2019 Academic Year. Data were collected using a “Descriptive Characteristics Form” and Champion’s Health Belief Model Scale" for breast cancer screening.Results: The mean age of participants was 19.74±18.4 years and 48.6% were medical documentation and secretarial students. Participants’ CHBMS subscale scores showed that they had high perceptions of benefits of breast self-examination, low perceptions of seriousness, barriers to performing breast self-examination and health motivation. Participants who performed breast self-examination had higher perceptions of benefits of breast self-examination and confidence/self-efficacy and lower perceptions of barriers to performing breast self-examination than those who had never performed breast self-examination before (p<0.01).Conclusion: Training on health promoting behaviors should be added to curricula.