Journal of Rafsanjan University of Medical Sciences

Background and Objective: Breast cancer is the most common cancer among females. Early detection by screening programs is a useful approach to controlling the disease. The purpose of this study was to assess the health beliefs in breast self-examination, mammography and clinical breast examination among females referring to Bonab health centers.

Materials and Methods: It was a cross- sectional study. The participants were recruited from 5 health centers of Bonan by Convenience sampling (n=250). Data was collected by Champion’s Health Belief Model Scale and analyzed using SPSS-PC (v.13).

Results: The results showed that 76.8% of the participants believed in the benefits of mammography and 66.4% of them the clinical examination. About 65.2% of participants had poor health beliefs about efficacy of Breast Self-Examination. 94% of participants believed that mammography reduce the risk of death due to breast cancer.

Conclusion : Despite good health beliefs in some fields, rates of breast cancer screening are low, therefore it is recommended to know the factors that play a role in increasing the acceptance of breast cancer screening methods and used them to encourage women to have screening.

Key words: Screening, Health Believes, Cancer

Funding: This research was funded by Rafsanjan University of Medical Sciences.

Conflict of interest: None declared.

Ethical approval: The Ethics Committee of Rafsanjan University of Medical Sciences approved the study.

How to cite this article: Hassanzadeh R, Rahimi R, Ranjbar M, Heidarzadeh M. Health Beliefs in Screening for Breast Cancer among Women Referring to Bonab Health Centers in 2014. J RafsanjanUniv Med Sci 2015 14(7): 575-86. [Farsi]