Health Belief Model and Determinants of Breast Self-examination Performance

Objectives: This study aimed at performing a path analysis to assess the parameters of the health belief model concerning BSE. Methods: The present descriptive cross-sectional study at a health care center, affiliated with Islamic Azad University Tehran, Faculty of Medicine in the northwest of Tehran, Iran was conducted from May to June 2018. The champion’s HBM scale, breast cancer knowledge test was assessed in all participants. The SPSS-22 and Lisrel-8.8 software, using statistical path analysis, were used for analyzing the data. Results: Totally, 225 women took part in this study. The mean of the BSE performance was 0.53 ± 0.52. The score of BCKT had a significant difference between women, who performed and did not perform BSE (P = 0.001). The final model was a good fit for the data collection. As a result, self-effectiveness improved HBM parameters. Also, perceived barriers, knowledge, and educational level had an association with BSE. Conclusions: According to the results of this study, self-care behaviors could be increased by eliminating perceived barriers and increasing the level of education and as a result of women s knowledge.