THE EFFECT OF EDUCATION ON CONDITION OF KNOWLEDGE, ATTITUDE AND PREVENTIVE BEHAVIORS OF BREAST CANCER IN FEMALE TEACHERS AT GUIDANCE SCHOOLS IN ZAHEDAN

Background: Breast cancer is the most common cancer in females and the first ranked in Iranian women. Forasmuch as methods of screening are the best among early detection methods and doing of them significantly prevent from its prevalence. The present study aimed to determinate the effect of education on condition of knowledge, attitude and preventive behavior of breast cancer in female teachers at guidance schools in Zahedan. Materials and Methods: This research is a quasi-experimental study. This study was conducted on 240 female teachers in secondary schools in Zahedan city in 2012 that were selected by multi-stage sampling in two control and intervention groups. The researcher-developed questionnaire was used to collect data including two parts: the first part includes demographic questions and the second part is related to awareness, behavior, and attitude that were used after the confirmation of validity and reliability. The data were collected through the questionnaire before and after training. The intervention was done through lecture, watching videos, group discussion, and question and answer. Two months after intervention, the second evaluation was performed. The data were analyzed through SPSS software and appropriate statistical tests like: Paired t-test, and Chi-square. Results: The findings of this study showed that based on the paired t-test average scores of were as follows: awareness (from 34.55 to 40.27), attitude (from41.31 to 44.18) and behavior (from 11.05 to 12.81) in the intervention group, before and after intervention, there were significant differences (P- value<0.0001). But in control group, before and after intervention there was no significant difference. Conclusion: The results of this study indicated that a regular educational program is effective on promoting attitude and knowledge level and preventive behaviors of breast cancer in teachers. The design and holding different educational programs lead to early diagnosis of breast cancer, enhancing awareness, attitude and action of teachers.