RESUMO
To determine the frequency of practicing breast self-examination [BSE] among Kuwaiti females and factors that may influence it Questionnaire based cross-sectional survey Multi-Ministries Compound, Kuwait Data was collected from 966 educated Kuwaiti female volunteers through a self-administered questionnaire. Data regarding the practice of BSE and factors influencing it Among the study sample 357 [37.0%] were practicing BSE. Their mean age was 31.6 +/- 8.8 years. The main reasons for not practicing BSE were fear of cancer discovery [13.5%], forgetfulness and failure to realize its importance [15.3%]. Moreover, 28.9% did not know the method of examination and 27.8% wished to learn. Only 21.6% reported that they did BSE practice on monthly basis. Women aged 20-29 years, married with middle income were insignificantly less likely to practice BSE than other categories. Students were more likely to practice BSE than working ladies [OR = 0.3, 95% CI 0.1-0.7]. There was a lower possibility of practicing BSE among women receiving their knowledge from TV / radio, newspapers / magazines and friends / relatives than those receiving from doctors. Moreover, the possibility of not practicing BSE decreased if the main source of knowledge were friends/relatives, nurse, media/newspapers respectively compared to those with no source of information. The frequency of BSE is low. It appears that a health education and training program will improve the rate of correct BSE performance