Effectiveness of educational intervention in raising knowledge regarding breast cancer among female nurses

OBJECTIVE To assess the effect of nursing educational session on nurses' knowledge level related to breast cancer. METHODS The quasi-experimental study was conducted at the Dow University of Health Sciences, and the Dr. Ruth Pfau Civil Hospital, Karachi, from January to July 2018, and comprised nurses from two tertiary care hospitals. A single educational session lasting 90-120-minute was conducted for all the subjects. Knowledge level was tested at baseline and post-intervention using the Comprehensive Breast Cancer Knowledge Test questionnaire. Data was analysed using SPSS 20. RESULTS There were 131 nurses with a mean age of 31.05±6.23 years (range: 18-47 years). Overall, 53(40.5%) subjects had General Nursing Diploma; 92(70.2%) were married; 108(82.4%) had no history of breast cancer, 47(35.9%) had 1-4 years of working experience; and 106(80.9%) had completed their graduation from public-sector institutions. The improvement post-intervention was significant in all the three components of knowledge (p<0.05). CONCLUSIONS Nursing educational session was found to have increased nurses' knowledge related to breast cancer.