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Knowledge, Attitudes and Perception of Moroccan Women about Breast Cancer




Author(s)

Nadia Benaicha, Hafida Charaka, Ousmane Desire, Samira Elfakir, Nabil Tachfouti, Mohamed Berraho, Youssef Chami Khazraji, Loubna Abousselham, Latifa Belakhel, Rachid Bekkali and Chakib Nejjari

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DOI:10.17265/2328-7136/2016.06.002

Breast cancer appears to be a disease of both the developing and developed worlds. Among Moroccan women, breast
cancer represents 34.4% of all cancers seen in women. This study aimed to give an overview of the knowledge, attitudes and perceptions related to breast cancer among Moroccan women. To our knowledge there is no previous study in Morocco to assess Moroccan women awareness of breast cancer. A national Cross-sectional study started in July 2011 based on eligible women for early detection programs in basal health centers from five Moroccan regions. A self-filled questionnaire was used to collect data outside working time. Knowledge was assessed using 24 true-false items. The questions were asked about symptoms and risk factors of breast cancer. A score ranging from 0 to 24 was calculated by weighting each item 1 point. Then the score was dichotomized according to the threshold 12 (50% correct answers). The study included 1,444 women from the regions of Rabat, Casablanca, Marrakech, Fez and Meknes. The average age was 40.6 ± 10 years, 2 women with a minimum age of 17 years and a 1 with a maximum age of 86 years. At the bivariate analysis using chi-square test we found that Marital Status, Social Security, Education, Origin, Sport, Personal History of Cancer, Medical and Surgical personal History were associated with knowledge score. At the
multivariate analysis (Logistic regression), we found that Social Security, Education, Origin, Sport were associated to knowledge score at the final model. This study has important implications for health care providers. The poor knowledge of risk factors and practice of breast screening leads to late stage presentation at diagnosis of breast cancer

Cancer, women, Morocco, perception