Health care professionals' practices, perceptions, and awareness regarding breast self-examination.

14 Background: In 2009, the United States Preventive Services Task Force (USPSTF) published the revised guidelines for breast cancer screening which recommended against teaching breast self-examination (BSE).The objective of this study was to assess healthcare professionals' practices, perceptions and knowledge in BSE as well as their adherence to the newly revised USPSTF guideline for BSE. Methods: A cross-sectional survey study was carried out in five medical and gynecological practices affiliated with a large academic teaching hospital in western Massachusetts. The survey was sent to all attending- and resident-physicians, nurse practitioners (NPs), physician assistants (PAs), and registered nurses (RNs) working in these medical practices.The survey collected demographic data and inquired about practitioners’ awareness and perceptions of the 2009 USPSTF guidelines. Results: The survey completion rate was 50.7%. Fewer than half of respondents correctly identified the 2009 USPSTF guidelines recommendatio...