Awareness and practice of breast self-examination among female staff at Babcock University, Nigeria

Background: Despite the ever-growing breast cancer awareness campaigns in Nigeria, the practice of breast self-examination (BSE) continues to vary widely among women. We aimed to assess breast cancer awareness and practice of BSE among female staff at Babcock University, Ogun State, Nigeria. Methods: The cross-sectional descriptive design was adopted for this study. Data were collected using a structured questionnaire administered to 160 respondents. Data analy-sis was done using Statistical Package for Social Sciences version 23. Results: Although the majority of the respondents were highly aware of breast cancer (78.12%) and had good knowledge about BSE (96.9%), their practice of BSE was low. Only 11.3% always examine their breasts in the mirror by raising their hands over their head, looking at their breasts and examining it in a circular motion; 56% rarely looked for puckering, colour changes and dimpling of the skin when examining their breasts in the mirror, although 53.8% sometimes squeezed their nipples and looked for discharge when they examined their breasts. Conclusion: Knowledge and positive opinions toward preventive strategies for breast cancer should not be interpreted as readiness for practice. Educational intervention pro-grams emphasising the importance of early detection in managing breast cancer should be reinforced to birth the desirable change.