Effectiveness of An Educational Intervention of Breast Cancer Screening Practices Uptake, Knowledge, and Beliefs among Yemeni Female School Teachers in Klang Valley, Malaysia: A Study Protocol for a Cluster-Randomized Controlled Trial

Abstract

Breast cancer is the most common cancer spread among women worldwide. Whereas many studies have discussed the significance of breast cancer screening among women in various countries, few have attempted to discuss this topic among female school teachers. As teachers educate and communicate with students, this may play an essential role in health education and in promoting healthy behavior, such as breast cancer screening. The primary goal of this study is to develop and implement an educational intervention of breast cancer screening and evaluate its effectiveness among Yemeni female school teachers in Malaysia. This was carried out as per the health belief model. A cluster-randomized controlled trial was conducted among 183 Yemeni female school teachers in twelve schools in Klang Valley, Malaysia. A random assignment of the target schools was made to include them within the intervention or control group. Participants in the intervention group were offered a 90-minute session for one-day educational intervention on breast cancer screening. On the other hand, participants in the control group were offered the same educational materials at the end of the study. Relevant data was collected at baseline, one month following the intervention, and then three- and six-months follow-up assessments. Analysis of such data was done via IBM SPSS software 25.0 by generalized estimating equations (GEE) to assess the differential changes over time. A primary outcome embodied in breast cancer screening practice uptake was expected. Secondary outcomes include the target group's knowledge on and beliefs of breast cancer screening. This study intends to contribute to the credibility and effectiveness of utilizing a theory-based breast cancer screening intervention in order to raise the awareness of women on conducting breast cancer screening.

Female medical and nursing students’ knowledge, attitudes, and skills regarding breast self-examination in Oman: a comparison between pre- and post-training

“…The educational intervention on the breast cancer screening practice uptake, knowledge, and health beliefs of Yemeni female school teachers in Klang Valley, Malaysia using a randomized control trial study was proven to be effective and successful [7].…”

“…These improvements can be attributed to the content of the program, which covered all the identified needs and knowledge gaps among the students. Likewise, an educational intervention on breast cancer screening practice uptake, knowledge, and health beliefs among Yemeni female school teachers in Klang Valley, Malaysia was proven to be effective in a randomized controlled trial [ 6 ].…”

Educational interventions on breast cancer in men and women: a necessity in primary healthcare

“…After analysing the data, it can be said that the level of awareness in individuals who participated in the studies contained in the research shown increased significantly [43] as a result of the various educational interventions on BC, particularly in aspects concerning new information and early detection methods. This indicates that the educational interventions are effective, managing to significantly increase the level of awareness in all their variants, leading to future quality of life through timely detection, linked with prevention and control of the disease and with improvements in life styles [33,37,[46][47][48][49][50][51][52][53][54][55][56][57][58][59][60].…”

“…At the same time, the importance of preventive BC health education interventions, in all stages of life, is reiterated, in order to develop health-promoting behaviours that allow the detection and timely control of risks in the development of BC. Its effectiveness has been demonstrated, but the need to have the knowledge, skills and competencies necessary to be able to transmit relevant and updated education on the subject is highlighted [ 27 ].…”

Factor structure and internal reliability of breast cancer screening Champion’s Health Belief Model Scale in Yemeni women in Malaysia: a cross-sectional study

“…Therefore, Yemen, as a developing country, is a case in point, with a low rate of BCS practice among its women, ranging between 11 and 17.4% [ 6 , 7 ], therefore resulting in a higher probability for a later stage of identification of most BC cases [ 8 ]. Influenced by their status as foreign immigrants, Yemeni women in Malaysia are significantly impacted by the challenges and barriers in accessing BCS-related information and services available for Malaysian women, thus resulting in the low level of BCS uptake among this ethnic group [ 9 , 10 ].…”