Peer-Reviewed Journal Details
Mandatory Fields
O'Mahony, M.,McCarthy, G.,Corcoran, P.,Hegarty, J.
2013
May
Shedding light on women's help seeking behaviour for self discovered breast symptoms
Validated
()
Optional Fields
PURPOSE: To describe women's help seeking behaviour (HSB) and the associated influencing factors on self-discovery of a breast symptom. METHODS: A descriptive, correlational survey design was used. Following ethical approval, survey data were collected from women (n = 449) attending the breast clinics of two large urban hospitals within the Republic of Ireland. RESULTS: The majority of women (69.9%; n = 314) sought help (by visiting their General practitioner, GP) within one month, 30.1% (n = 135) delayed help seeking for more than one month following symptom discovery and 16.7% (n = 75) delayed for three months or more. The factors most significantly associated with delayed HSB were knowledge around symptom identity (Odds Ratio (OR) = 4.80, p = 0.005); ignoring the symptom and hoping it would go away (OR = 10.72, p < 0.001) and women's belief that the symptom would persist for a long time (OR = 1.18, p = 0.023). Being afraid on symptom discovery (OR = 0.37, p = 0.005) was associated with reduced risk of delayed HSB. CONCLUSIONS: It is encouraging to see that the majority of women who find a breast symptom seek help promptly. However, a small cohort of women delay seeking help from their GP. HSB is influenced by multiple factors which can impact on patient outcomes. Findings are important for oncology nurses who have a key role to play in promoting breast awareness, prompt help seeking and early detection and treatment of breast cancer, amongst women.PURPOSE: To describe women's help seeking behaviour (HSB) and the associated influencing factors on self-discovery of a breast symptom. METHODS: A descriptive, correlational survey design was used. Following ethical approval, survey data were collected from women (n = 449) attending the breast clinics of two large urban hospitals within the Republic of Ireland. RESULTS: The majority of women (69.9%; n = 314) sought help (by visiting their General practitioner, GP) within one month, 30.1% (n = 135) delayed help seeking for more than one month following symptom discovery and 16.7% (n = 75) delayed for three months or more. The factors most significantly associated with delayed HSB were knowledge around symptom identity (Odds Ratio (OR) = 4.80, p = 0.005); ignoring the symptom and hoping it would go away (OR = 10.72, p < 0.001) and women's belief that the symptom would persist for a long time (OR = 1.18, p = 0.023). Being afraid on symptom discovery (OR = 0.37, p = 0.005) was associated with reduced risk of delayed HSB. CONCLUSIONS: It is encouraging to see that the majority of women who find a breast symptom seek help promptly. However, a small cohort of women delay seeking help from their GP. HSB is influenced by multiple factors which can impact on patient outcomes. Findings are important for oncology nurses who have a key role to play in promoting breast awareness, prompt help seeking and early detection and treatment of breast cancer, amongst women.
1532-2122 (Electronic) 14
http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/23643696http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/23643696
Grant Details