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ORIGINAL RESEARCH article

Front. Public Health
Sec. Public Health Education and Promotion
Volume 12 - 2024 | doi: 10.3389/fpubh.2024.1309797

Knowledge, attitude, and practice toward ultrasound screening for breast cancer among women

Provisionally accepted
Shaozhong Liu Shaozhong Liu 1Shukai Zheng Shukai Zheng 2Mengzhen Qin Mengzhen Qin 2Yifeng Xie Yifeng Xie 2Kun Yang Kun Yang 2Xiaozhen Liu Xiaozhen Liu 2*
  • 1 Department of Ultrasound Imaging, Zhongshan People's Hospital (ZSPH), Zhongshan, China
  • 2 Zhongshan People's Hospital (ZSPH), Zhongshan, Guangdong, China

The final, formatted version of the article will be published soon.

    Background: Several obstacles can hinder breast cancer screening. This study aimed to investigate the knowledge, attitude, and practice (KAP) toward ultrasound screening for breast cancer in women. Methods: This cross-sectional study recruited women who visited the breast specialist clinic of Zhongshan City People's Hospital (a tertiary hospital) between August 2022 and April 2023 through convenience sampling. KAP scores >70% were considered adequate.Results: This study enrolled 501 participants. The mean knowledge, attitude, and practice levels were 8.56±1.81/12 (possible range 0-12, 71.33%), 29.80±2.71 (possible range 8-40, 74.50%), and 32.04±3.09 (possible range 8-40, 80.10%). Senior high school education (vs. junior high school and below, coefficient =1.531, 95%CI: 1.013-2.312, P=0.044), bachelor's education and above (vs. junior high school and below, coefficient =5.315, 95%CI: 3.546-7.966, P<0.001), housewife or unemployed (vs. employed, coefficient =0.671, 95%CI: 0.466-0.966, P=0.032), and a history of breast ultrasound (vs. no, coefficient =1.466, 95%CI: 1.121-1.917, P=0.005) were independently and positively associated with knowledge. Knowledge (coefficient =1.303, 95%CI: 1.100-1.544, P=0.002) and monthly income >10,000 (vs. <5000, coefficient =4.364, 95%CI: 1.738-10.956, P=0.002) were independently and positively associated with attitude. Only attitude (coefficient =1.212, 95%CI: 1.096-1.340, P<0.001) was independently and positively associated with the practice. A structural equation modeling (SEM) analysis was used to estimate causality among KAP dimensions, showing that knowledge directly influenced attitude (β=-1.090, P=0.015), knowledge did not directly influence practice (β=-0.117, P=0.681) but had an indirect influence (β=0.826, P=0.028), and attitude directly influenced practice (β=-0.757, P=0.016). Conclusions: Women in Zhongshan City had good knowledge, favorable attitudes, and active practice toward breast ultrasound screening for breast cancer. Women's characteristics associated with a poorer KAP were identified, allowing for more targeted interventions.

    Keywords: Knowledge, attitude, practice, breast cancer, screening, ultrasound, Crosssectional study

    Received: 08 Oct 2023; Accepted: 06 May 2024.

    Copyright: © 2024 Liu, Zheng, Qin, Xie, Yang and Liu. This is an open-access article distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution License (CC BY). The use, distribution or reproduction in other forums is permitted, provided the original author(s) or licensor are credited and that the original publication in this journal is cited, in accordance with accepted academic practice. No use, distribution or reproduction is permitted which does not comply with these terms.

    * Correspondence: Xiaozhen Liu, Zhongshan People's Hospital (ZSPH), Zhongshan, 528403, Guangdong, China

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