Abstract:
Breast self-examination practice is a screening method used in an attempt to detect early breast cancer when it's
more likely to be treated successfully. The method involves the woman herself looking at and feeling each breast
for possible lumps, distortions or swelling. Breast cancer is a global health concern and a leading cause of
morbidity and mortality among women. Therefore, the main objective of this study was to assess breast
self-examination practice and its associated factors among female students at the University of Gondar,
Northwest Ethiopia. Institutional based cross-sectional study was carried out from April to May 2014. The study
participants were recruited using a simple random sampling technique. Data was entered using Epi Data 3.02
statistical software and analyzed using SPSS version 20. Odds ratio with 95 % confidence intervals was used to
assess the presence and strength of association. Out of 806 female students recruited, 803 participated in the
study. The prevalence of breast self-examination practice was 45.8% with 95% CI, (42%, 50%). Using multivariate
analysis, students 4th year and above were significantly associated with [AOR] = 2.34, 95% CI 1.33 -4.09) perceive
barriers with (AOR= .66, 95% CI .488 -.897), perceived self-efficacy (AOR= 3.53, 95% CI, 2.56 -4.89) and heard of
breast self-examination practice (AOR= 0.16, 95% CI, .07, 0.368). According to this study finding breast
self-examination practice is low and it needs additional improvement respective of different associated factors
including both first year and above undergraduate students of Gondar University to detect early breast cancer and
avoid morbidity and mortality related to breast self -examination practice.
