title: Targeting health disparity in breast cancer: insights into women's knowledge of their cancer profile in Malaysia.
abstract: OBJECTIVE
  Poor health literacy is positively associated with poorer quality of health decision-making and health outcomes in women facing a cancer diagnosis. In developing countries, poor access to complete and accurate information continues to pose a challenge for women. This paper describes the knowledge of Malaysian women with regard to breast cancer and how participation in a self-management program can improve the situation.
  
  
  METHODS
  Secondary analysis of data collected during a clinical trial on women newly diagnosed with breast cancer (n=147) was performed to examine baseline knowledge of breast cancer profile. Knowledge levels of women in the experimental (n= 69) group attending a self-management program were compared to a control group (n= 78) to determine change in the level of knowledge over time.
  
  
  RESULTS
  At baseline, a high percentage of women were unaware of their breast cancer profile. Not a single woman had knowledge of all six basic characteristics; 83% did not know their HER2 status, type of breast cancer (68%), grade of cancer cell (64%), hormonal receptor status (55%), size of breast cancer (18%) and/or their stage of breast cancer (13%). At post intervention, there was significantly better knowledge within the experimental group.
  
  
  CONCLUSIONS
  Malaysian women in this cohort study demonstrated very low levels of knowledge of their cancer profile. Clinical implications for countering treatment-decision difficulties include the need for a shift in the way information and services are delivered to allow women to take a more active role in their own care. Multi-modal efforts including basic information dissemination to increase women's knowledge can contribute to narrowing of the gap in health disparity.
authors.affiliation: Department of Rehabilitation, Faculty of Medicine, University of Malaya, Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia. syloh@um.edu.my
authors.forename: SiewYim
authors.initials: S
authors.lastname: Loh
authors.forename: T L
authors.initials: TL
authors.lastname: Packer
authors.forename: Cheng-Har
authors.initials: CH
authors.lastname: Yip
authors.forename: A
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Passmore
mesh_terms: D000328:Adult; D001943:Breast Neoplasms / Q000175:diagnosis* / Q000453:epidemiology; D016504:Breast Self-Examination / Q000706:statistics & numerical data*; D016022:Case-Control Studies; D002986:Clinical Trials as Topic; D015331:Cohort Studies; D004522:Educational Status; D005260:Female; D005500:Follow-Up Studies; D015438:Health Behavior; D007722:Health Knowledge, Attitudes, Practice; D054624:Health Status Disparities; D006801:Humans; D008296:Malaysia / Q000453:epidemiology; D008327:Mammography / Q000706:statistics & numerical data*; D008403:Mass Screening; D008875:Middle Aged; D011795:Surveys and Questionnaires