ABSTRACT
Background and Objective@#Breast cancer remains one of the top leading morbidity and mortality among women within the country and around the world. Breast self-examination has been considered as a safe and easy to perform screening procedure to detect breast lumps and swelling. This study was conducted to determine knowledge on breast cancer and breast self-examination among public-school teachers.@*Methodology@#A cross-sectional design was employed involving 348 professional teachers in Aurora, Philippines in April 2019. Self-report questionnaire derived from literatures was used to generate participants' knowledge on breast cancer and breast self-examination. Descriptive statistics like frequency, percentages and averages were used in data analysis. @*Results@#Majority of the participants are females (83.3%) whose age is between 31-40 years old (37.9%). Three hundred twenty-seven (94%) participants have knowledge on breast cancer while two hundred ninety four (84.48%) of them have knowledge on breast self-examination. @*Conclusion@#Professional teachers have knowledge on breast cancer and breast self-examination however, health care providers and concerned health agencies need to continue and enhance comprehensive health education about breast cancer and breast self-examination to teachers. It is essential that awareness program about these need to be integrated to teacher's training programs or professional development activities.
Subject(s)
Breast Neoplasms , Breast Self-Examination , Health EducationABSTRACT
Background@#Public health workers play significant roles in communities in terms of disaster management. Disaster risk reduction management laws and country plans serve as the legal basis and framework in preparing for, mitigating, and responding to a disaster.@*Objective@#This study was conducted to assess the knowledge and practices of Rural Health Unit (RHU) personnel on disaster preparedness. @*Methodology@#A descriptive survey design using a self-report questionnaire developed by the researchers obtained from the Philippine Disaster Risk Reduction and Management (PDRRM) Act of 2010 and the National Disaster Risk Reduction and Management Plan (NDRRMP) 2011-2028 was employed. Via total enumeration, participants from eight RHUs in Aurora Province voluntarily consented to take part. The data were analyzed by employing descriptive statistics such as frequencies, percentages, and measure of central tendency or median by SPSS statistics. @*Results@#The majority of the participants were aged 55 years and above (25.90%), females (78.42%), and were Rural Health Midwives (RHMs) (39.57%). One hundred and thirty-eight (99%) of the RHU personnel in Aurora Province were found to be knowledgeable about disaster preparedness and 90 (65%) of the participants had practiced activities in this regard. @*Conclusion@#The Rural Health Unit (RHU) personnel of Aurora Province are knowledgeable about disaster preparedness and its practices. Public health workers with these characteristics are pillars of strength for the local government units (LGUs). They can continue to enhance comprehensive disaster preparedness education programs in their communities, and assist their LGUs during municipal disaster management planning.