Journal of Health Literacy

Journal of Health Literacy

Impact of Health Literacy Interventions on Breast Cancer Knowledge and Health Literacy

Document Type : Original Article

Authors
DİLEK YILDIRIM 1
FATİH ALEV 2
GÜLŞAH KOÇAKLI 2
ŞEVİN GÖZCÜ 3
EMİR CİHAT KORKMAZ 4
1 Assoc. Prof. Dr., PhD. Faculty of Health Sciences Department of Nursing, Istanbul Aydın University Istanbul, Turkey.
2 Bachelor's Degree, Department of Nursing, Faculty of Health Sciences, Istanbul Aydın University, Istanbul, Turkey.
3 Medical Oncology/Chemotherapy Department, Medipol University Hospital, Istanbul, Turkey.
4 General Surgical Department, Koç University Hospital, Istanbul, Turkey.
10.22038/jhl.2024.82164.1627
Abstract
Background and Objectives: For women, health literacy level is an important factor directly affecting their health protection and development behaviors. The aim of this study was to evaluate the effect of health literacy interventions on breast cancer knowledge and health literacy breast cancer screening beliefs and behaviors.

Materials and Methods: This randomized controlled experimental study was conducted with women working in two different municipalities in Istanbul/Turkey. The study was completed with a total of 86 participants, 43 in the training group and 43 in the control group. The participants in the training group were given a comprehensive training program by the researchers in groups of 10-12 people in 3-hour sessions per day for 3 consecutive days. 

Results: In the first and second measurements after the intervention, it was observed that the training group’s Health Literacy Scale Total Score means increased compared to those of control group (training and control group post-test-1 scores, respectively; 98.395 ± 21.388 vs. 86.372 ± 24.752, p=0.018, increased by 13.95%; training and control group post-test-2 scores, respectively; 112.904 ± 10.178 vs. 87.581 ± 26.531, p<0.001, increased by 28.73%. Also, in the first and second measurements after the intervention, it was observed that the control group’s Breast Cancer Screening Beliefs Scale Total Score means increased compared to those of the control group (training and control group post-test-1 scores, respectively; 77.862 ± 14.767 vs. 58.604 ± 16.001, p<0.001, increased by 32.75%; training and control group post-test-2 scores, respectively; 81.574 ± 12.478 vs. 58.917 ± 15.860, p<0.001, increased by 39.65%.

Conclusion: The comprehensive training program given to women, including what breast cancer is, its risk factors, etiology, early screening methods, treatment and breast self-examination, has positively changed their breast cancer screening beliefs, health literacy levels, and beliefs and practices regarding early diagnosis.
Keywords
Breast Cancer
Training
Health Literacy
Cancer Screening Beliefs
Behavior

Acknowledgments: This study was supported and funded by the Scientific and Technological Research Council of Turkey (TUBİTAK, Project No: 1919B012203797). The authors thank all study participants.


 Availability of data and materials: All data is reserved to the researchers, available upon request.


Conflicts of interests: The authors express that they have no conflicts of interests.


Consent for publication: Not applicable.


Ethics approval and consent to participate: For conducting the study, written ethics board approval numbered 2022/20 (Date: 24.11.2022) was obtained from the Istanbul Aydin University Ethics Board. The study was registered in Clinical Trials with the registration number “NCT05723237”. Additionally, after informing the participants about the objective and method of the study, their verbal and written consent was received. This study was conducted following the principles of the Declaration of Helsinki.


Funding: This study was supported and funded by The Scientific and Technological Research Council of Turkey (TUBITAK, Project No: 1919B012203797).


Authors' Contributions: Conceptualization, D.Y. and F.A.; Methodology, D.Y., F.A., E.C.K., G.K. and Ş.G.; Software, D.Y., E.C.K., G.K. and Ş.G.; Validation, D.Y., F.A., E.C.K., G.K. and Ş.G.; Formal Analysis, D.Y. and F.A.; Investigation, D.Y., F.A., E.C.K., G.K. and Ş.G.; Resources, D.Y., F.A., E.C.K., G.K. and Ş.G.; Data Curation, F.A., E.C.K., G.K. and Ş.G.; Writing – Original Draft Preparation D.Y., F.A., E.C.K., G.K. and Ş.G.; Writing – Review & Editing, D.Y., F.A., E.C.K., G.K. and Ş.G.; Visualization, D.Y., F.A., E.C.K., G.K. and Ş.G.; Supervision, D.Y., F.A., E.C.K., G.K. and Ş.G.; Project Administration, D.Y. and F.A.

 

Open Access Policy: This is an open access article under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution License, which permits use, distribution and reproduction in any medium, provided the original work is properly cited. To view a copy of this licence, visit https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/

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