Health Beliefs and Breast Self-Examination in a Sample of Turkish Women Academicians in a University

Objective: The purpose of this study was to evaluate health beliefs and BSE behavior of female academiciansin a Turkish university.
Methods: This descriptive study was conducted at various faculties located in EgeUniversity, Izmir, Turkey, in 2005. The sample consisted of 224 female academicians. Data were collected usinga self-administered questionnaire and the Turkish version of Champion’s Health Belief Model Scales (HBM).Descriptive statistics, t-test and Mann Whitney u analysis were conducted.
Results: The percentage of participantswho regularly performed BSE was 27.7 %. Benefits and health motivation related to BSE ranked either first orsecond, along with confidence. Perceived barriers to BSE had the lowest item mean subscale score in academicians.Single academicians perceived susceptibility and seriousness higher than their married counterparts. Familyhistory of breast cancer of participants affected their health beliefs subscale.
Conclusions: BSE performanceamong participants was more likely in women academicians who exhibited higher confidence and those whoperceived fewer barriers related to BSE performance, complying with the conceptual structure of the HBM.Therefore, it is recommended that in order to increase the rates of regular breast cancer screening, mass healthprotective programs based on the HBM should be executed for women.