Awareness and attitudes of female university students on breast self-exam: A basis for health education material / Valbuena, Nastasha Caludine T.; Villapando, Alexi Vanessa M.; Villa-Real, Ana Cristina R.; Villasana, Jeheziel F. and Zipagan, Crystar A. 6

Undergraduate (Thesis) Pamantasan ng Lungsod ng Maynila.;College of Nursing, Bachelor of Science in Nursing.;ABSTRACT: This research attempted to determine the awareness and attitudes of female university students on breast self-examination as a basis for the development of a health education manual. The researchers tested if there is a significant relationship between the respondents level of awareness and attitude toward breast self-examination. A descriptive type of research was employed in this study. A total of two hundred eighty nine (289) female university students of the Pamantasan ng Lungsod ng Maynila, ages twenty (20) and above, were taken as respondents of the study. Respondents were selected through proportionate stratified random sampling. The data were gathered through a questionnaire formulated by the proponents of the research. The findings of the study revealed that in terms of the profile, the physicians or nurses were mostly preferred by the respondents as counselors to their health problems, majority of the respondents were studying under non-health related courses, majority of the respondents have a history of breast health problems in the family, and majority of then were not practicing breast self-exam regularly. For the level of awareness in terms of purpose, the respondents scored very high, and in terms of skills, they generally attained a high score. For the level of attitude towards BSE, in terms of importance, the respondents gained a very high score, a high score on the confidence, and a very low score in the compliance. Results from the Chi-Square indicated that there was no significant relationship between profile and attitude; On the other hand, there was a significant relationship between the course and practice of BSE to the level of awareness of the respondents, and there was no significant relationship between history of breast health problems and sources of health information to the level of awareness. Results of the computations from Pearson R dictated that there was no significant relationship between the level of awareness of the respondents and their level of attitude towards BSE. Based on the findings of the study,it is recommended that a more extensive explanation on breast self-examination must be given to the female university to develop their attitude towards conducting a breast self-examination monthly. It is also recommended to disseminate the health education manual created by the researchers to the students, and have a copy of the manual in the university clinic since findings reveal that the respondents trust the health practitioners the most when it comes to their health concerns. 56

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