title: Health Beliefs and Breast Self-Examination among Undergraduate Female Students in Public Universities in Klang Valley, Malaysia.
abstract: BACKGROUND
  Breast cancer is the most frequently occurring cancer in women and the most common cause of cancer death worldwide.
  
  
  METHODS
  A cross-sectional study was carried out among 792 female undergraduate students in public universities in Klang Valley, Malaysia, from January to April 2011. Data were collected using a validated questionnaire developed for this study.
  
  
  RESULTS
  The mean age of respondents was 21.7±1.2 years. Most of them were single (96.8%), Malay (91.9%) and 150 (19.6%) claimed they had practiced BSE. There was a significant differences between performers and non-performers correlated to age, marital status, check breast by doctor, and being trained about BSE. Performers had lower mean scores for perceived barriers and susceptibility and higher mean score for confidence. Stepwise logistic regression analysis yielded four significant predictor variables.
  
  
  CONCLUSIONS
  Overall our findings indicate that the practice of BSE while perceived as being important is not frequently practiced among female in Malaysia. Targeted education should be implemented to improve early detection of breast cancer.
authors.affiliation: Cancer Resource and Education Center, Universiti Putra Malaysia, Serdang, Selangor, Malaysia E-mail : hanafiah_juni@upm.edu.my.
authors.forename: Mehrnoosh
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Akhtari-Zavare
authors.forename: Muhamad Hanafiah
authors.initials: MH
authors.lastname: Juni
authors.forename: Irmi Zarina
authors.initials: IZ
authors.lastname: Ismail
authors.forename: Salmiah Md
authors.initials: SM
authors.lastname: Said
authors.forename: Latiffah A
authors.initials: LA
authors.lastname: Latiff
mesh_terms: D000328:Adult; D001943:Breast Neoplasms / Q000175:diagnosis* / Q000523:psychology*; D016504:Breast Self-Examination / Q000523:psychology*; D003430:Cross-Sectional Studies; D003469:Culture; D055088:Early Detection of Cancer; D005260:Female; D005500:Follow-Up Studies; D007722:Health Knowledge, Attitudes, Practice; D006801:Humans; D008296:Malaysia; D009042:Motivation; D011379:Prognosis; D013334:Students / Q000523:psychology*; D014495:Universities / Q000706:statistics & numerical data*; D055815:Young Adult