Assessing the Health Belief Model of Students with Regard to Breast Cancer: A Descriptive Study

Background: Breast cancer continues to be a substantial worldwide health issue, impacting millions of individuals and families annually. Gaining insight into individuals' perception and reaction to the risk of breast cancer is crucial for advancing early detection and successful prevention methods. The Health Belief Model (HBM) is a commonly utilised theoretical framework for examining health behaviours associated with breast cancer. According to the Health Belief Model (HBM), individuals are more inclined to take measures to prevent or manage a health threat if they believe that they are at risk of developing the condition, perceive the condition to have severe consequences, believe that taking action would be advantageous in reducing the threat, and perceive minimal obstacles to taking action. The study seeks to evaluate the Health Belief Model of students in relation to breast cancer.

Methods: A descriptive research design was adopted. Self-administered semi-structured questionnaires were used to elicit information from 365 female participants. Purposive sampling approach was used to choose Tamale Girls and Ghana Senior High Schools from the Tamale Metropolis and simple random technique was used to identify the study respondents. Data was analysed using SPSS. Statistics like frequency and percentages were used to represent the findings.

Results: The study revealed that students possessed a moderate-to-high level of information regarding the causes, effects, and preventions of breast cancer. This knowledge was mostly influenced by the type or category of learning. Overall, a minimal number of students participated in the screening process for breast cancer. Among the three techniques, breast self-examination was the most commonly utilised, followed by mammography and clinical breast examination. Factors such as age, family size, religion, and social class were found to be associated with breast cancer screening.

Conclusion: Students generally exhibited a modest degree of perceived vulnerability to breast cancer. They also demonstrated a favourable disposition towards the advantages of breast cancer prevention and early detection measures.