Polish Journal of Public Health

Original Article, Pol J Public Health 2021;131: 50-55

Aleksandra Witas¹, Patrycja Pałczyńska¹, Krystian Wdowiak¹, 
Witold Wojdan¹, Weronika Sakowska¹, Marek Kos², Marta Kuszneruk²

¹ Students Scientific Association at Chair and Department of Public Health, Medical Uniwersity of Lublin, Poland
² Chair and Department of Public Health, Medical University of Lublin, Poland

10.2478/pjph-2021-0010

© 2021 Medical University of Lublin. This is an open access article distributed under the Creative Commons Attribution-NonComercial-No Derivs licence (http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc-nd/3.0/)

Abstract

Introduction. Breast cancer is the most common malignant neoplasm among women in Poland. Many factors, both non-modifiable and modifiable, are involved in the development of this cancer, so it is important that women know the risk factors and the principles of cancer prevention. Numerous studies show that the knowledge of women in this area is small.

Aim. Determining the state of knowledge about breast cancer of young women in Poland, comparing the analysis of social awareness on this subject with previous research, and identifying the most important preventive measures in this area.

Material and methods. An anonymous questionnaire survey was conducted in electronic form among women aged 16-25 from all over Poland. The study was carried out using a proprietary questionnaire (Google form) completed online. The ques­tionnaire contained closed questions verifying the knowledge of the topic under study and a certificate. The following computer programs were used for statistical analysis of data: Statistica and Microsoft Excel.

Results. Less than a third of women knows the typical age at which breast cancer develops and is aware of the relationship between the use of oral hormonal contraceptives and the development of this cancer. Few of the respondents are able to correctly identify the risk factors for breast cancer, practically every tenth respondent knows the principles of breast cancer prevention, and nearly one third of them correctly indicated its symptoms.

Conclusions. There are gaps in the knowledge of young women about breast cancer that need to be filled. Education in the field of breast self-examination and risk factors for breast cancer development is a priority, which in the future may contribute to increasing the detection of breast changes and reducing the number of breast cancer cases.

Keywords: neoplasm, breast cancer, prevention, health education.