The Effectiveness of The Annual Breast Cancer Awareness Campaigns in the Uptake of Early Screening by Women in Ruiru Sub-Location in Kiambu County

Abstract

The purpose of this study was to assess the effectiveness of the annual breast cancer awareness campaigns in the uptake of early screening among women in Ruiru sublocation, Kiambu County. The study was guided by three objectives: to determine the uptake level of early screening for breast cancer among women in Ruiru sub-location as a result of exposure to annual breast cancer awareness campaigns; to determine the factors that influence uptake of early screening for breast cancer among women in Ruiru sub-location; and to determine the sources of breast cancer information for women in Ruiru sub-location. The theoretical framework for the study was based on the health belief model and the convergence theory. A mixed method research design was used with both qualitative and quantitative data collected. Data was collected using a self- administered questionnaire and two focus group discussions. Women between the age of 25 and 50 years were systematically sampled from 301 households in 12 villages in Ruiru sub-location totalling to 210. The collected data was analyzed using descriptive statistics including percentages, frequencies, mean, and standard deviation. For computing the statistics, the Statistical Package for the Social Sciences (SPSS), version 22 was used. Key findings of the study were that most of the respondents (at 84.8%) had been exposed to the breast cancer screening campaigns yet this did not translate into many of them taking up early screening for the disease; and that fear of the results and cost of screening were significant factors in the uptake for early screening for breast cancer (with 4.15 & 3.71 mean scores respectively). One of the recommendations of the study was that the breast awareness campaigns’ messages should target the fear of discovering a lump, as well as perceived threats of behavior change.