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Impact of Breast Cancer Awareness Campaigns on Breast Self-Examination Practices among Women in Nigeria

Abstract

Breast cancer remains a significant public health concern among women in Nigeria, with late presentation and delayed diagnosis contributing to poor treatment outcomes and increased mortality. Limited awareness of breast cancer risk factors, warning signs, screening options, and appropriate breast health practices may reduce women's ability to recognize abnormalities and seek timely medical evaluation. Breast self-examination is a simple breast health practice that may increase women's familiarity with the normal appearance and feel of their breasts and encourage prompt reporting of unusual changes to healthcare professionals. Breast cancer awareness campaigns provide an opportunity to disseminate information about breast cancer risk factors, warning signs, breast health, screening services, and the importance of seeking medical attention when abnormalities are detected. However, limited campaign coverage, inadequate access to accurate information, cultural beliefs, fear of cancer diagnosis, misconceptions, and poor access to healthcare services may affect women's adoption of recommended breast health practices. Against this background, this study investigates the impact of breast cancer awareness campaigns on breast self-examination practices among women in Nigeria. The study will be anchored on the Health Belief Model, Social Cognitive Theory, and Health Promotion Model. The Health Belief Model explains how women's perceptions of susceptibility to breast cancer, perceived severity of the disease, perceived benefits of breast self-examination, perceived barriers, and cues to action may influence breast health practices. Social Cognitive Theory emphasizes the roles of health knowledge, observational learning, self-efficacy, social support, and environmental influences in developing and maintaining breast self-examination practices. The Health Promotion Model emphasizes individual experiences, perceived benefits and barriers, interpersonal influences, and behavioural factors that influence health-promoting practices. Collectively, these theoretical perspectives provide a suitable framework for explaining how breast cancer awareness campaigns may influence breast self-examination practices among women in Nigeria. The study will adopt a quantitative analytical cross-sectional or quasi-experimental research design. The study population will comprise women aged 18 years and above residing in selected communities across Nigeria. A multistage sampling technique will be used to select states, local government areas, communities, households, and eligible women. Breast cancer awareness campaigns will be assessed using indicators such as exposure to breast cancer awareness activities, frequency and duration of campaign exposure, campaign channels, health education sessions, knowledge of breast cancer warning signs, information on risk factors, breast health education, information on screening services, campaign message clarity, use of community mobilization, and access to breast cancer information from healthcare professionals or organizations. Breast self-examination practices will be assessed using indicators such as awareness of breast self-examination, frequency of practice, consistency of practice, knowledge of appropriate technique, ability to identify breast changes, timing of examination, confidence in performing the examination, and willingness to report suspicious findings to healthcare professionals. Data will be collected using structured questionnaires, validated breast cancer awareness and self-examination assessment tools where appropriate, campaign records, community health programme documents, and relevant healthcare records. Descriptive statistics will be used to summarize participants' characteristics, campaign exposure, breast cancer knowledge, and breast self-examination practices. Inferential statistical techniques, including chi-square tests, t-tests, correlation analysis, and logistic or multiple regression analysis where appropriate, will be used to determine the impact of breast cancer awareness campaigns on breast self-examination practices. Where a quasi-experimental design is adopted, breast self-examination knowledge and practice scores before and after exposure to structured awareness campaigns may be compared, while relevant demographic, socioeconomic, educational, and healthcare-access factors are appropriately controlled. Diagnostic tests will also be conducted to assess the reliability, validity, and robustness of the findings. The study is expected to find that breast cancer awareness campaigns have a significant positive impact on breast self-examination practices among women in Nigeria. Women who are regularly exposed to accurate and well-designed breast cancer awareness campaigns are expected to demonstrate better knowledge of breast cancer warning signs and greater adoption of appropriate breast self-examination practices than women with limited exposure. Awareness campaigns may improve women's understanding of breast changes, strengthen confidence in breast health practices, reduce misconceptions, and encourage timely healthcare-seeking when abnormalities are identified. However, cultural beliefs, fear of breast cancer diagnosis, embarrassment, misinformation, limited access to healthcare professionals, low health literacy, and inadequate availability of breast cancer screening and diagnostic services may affect the translation of awareness into practice. The study therefore expects accessible, culturally appropriate, evidence-based, and sustained breast cancer awareness campaigns to contribute significantly to improved breast self-examination practices and earlier recognition of suspicious breast changes among women in Nigeria. The study is expected to contribute to the literature on breast cancer awareness, breast self-examination, breast health promotion, cancer prevention, cancer early detection, women's health, health education, and public health in Nigeria. The findings will provide useful information to the Federal Ministry of Health and Social Welfare, state ministries of health, cancer control programmes, teaching hospitals, primary healthcare centres, cancer organizations, women's health organizations, community health workers, healthcare professionals, development partners, and policymakers regarding strategies for strengthening breast cancer awareness and early detection. The study will also provide evidence-based recommendations for expanding community-based breast cancer awareness campaigns, improving breast health education, strengthening women's knowledge of breast cancer warning signs, promoting appropriate breast self-examination practices, addressing cultural and informational barriers, strengthening referral pathways, and linking awareness campaigns with accessible clinical breast examination, diagnostic, and cancer care services across Nigeria.

Keywords: Breast cancer awareness campaigns, breast self-examination, breast cancer awareness, early detection, women's health, cancer prevention, breast health, health education, cancer screening, Nigeria, public health.