Determinants of Breast Cancer screening: Application of Protection Motivation Theory

Background]Breast cancer is a major public health problem in both developed and developing countries. The mortality rates of this disease are due to the lack of awareness about screening methods and late detection of breast cancer, which is high in Iran.[Objectives]The aim of this study was to determine breast selfexamination (BSE) behaviors applying protection motivation theory (PMT).[Methods]In this crosssectional study, the multistage cluster sampling method was used to 410 women aged 40 65 years old in Tehran, Iran. The questionnaire was completed through selfreported for each of the participants. PMT theoretical variables and BSE behavior are the basis of the data collection procedure. All analyses were performed using SPSS 20 for the windows. Oneway ANOVA, chiSquare test, Independent Samples i t /i test, logistic regression, and Pearson correlation coefficient were applied. We set 0.05 as a criterion for statistical significance.[Results]The results indicated there were significant and positive correlations between the knowledge about breast cancer and selfefficacy of practicing BSE (r = 0.43, P lt; 0.001), response efficacy (r = 0.20, P lt; 0.001), and protection motivation (r = 0.25, P = 0.003).[Conclusions]Healthcare providers may consider PMT as a framework for developing educational interventions aiming at improving women’s BSE behavior.