Edinburgh breast education campaign on breast cancer and breast self-examination: was it worth while?
A health education campaign was carried out at the start of a large trial of screening for breast cancer in Edinburgh. After preliminary studies the campaign concentrated on talks to small groups of women by specially trained health visitors. Over a year, 12,000 women attended. Systematic evaluation after 12 months showed that selected women who heard the talks were more knowledgeable about breast cancer, and a random sample of women in Edinburgh had a small but significant improvement in knowledge compared with women in Aberdeen. However, the random sample did not report an increase in the practice of breast self-examination (BSE) and there was no increase in workload for general practitioners. It is suggested that BSE is more likely to be accepted if combined with a physical examination.
Roberts
M M
MM
Edinburgh Breast Screening Clinic, University of Edinburgh.
Robinson
S E
SE
French
K
K
Proudfoot
A
A
Talbot
H
H
Elton
R A
RA
D000328:Adult; D000367:Age Factors; D001940:Breast; D001943:Breast Neoplasms / Q000517:prevention & control*; D005069:Evaluation Studies as Topic; D005260:Female; D006266:Health Education; D006801:Humans; D008875:Middle Aged; D010173:Palpation; D012606:Scotland; D012923:Social Class