Abstract

Background & Objective: The number of new cancer cases in the world is still growing. Success in early detection of cancer largely depends on people’s awareness of the early warning signs of cancer. This study aimed to determine the awareness of women about warning signs of cancer and its association with their demographic and clinical characteristics. Methods: This is a cross-sectional study which was carried out on 160 women referred to the four Health Centers affiliated with Bushehr University of Medical Sciences. The data were obtained using two researcher-made questionnaires, including demographic-clinical information questionnaire and knowledge on cancer warning signs questionnaire. The data were analyzed using SPSS software version 22. Results: The mean age of women in this study was 29.9 ± 7.1 years. According to the results, over 50% of women were not aware of five signs out of 10 warning signs of cancer mentioned in the questionnaire. More than half of the women (56.2%) had low level of awareness and poor knowledge of cancer warning signs. The results of multiple linear regression analysis showed that only the women's level of education was significantly associated with their awareness of the warning signs of cancer (p =0.007, β =0.28). In total, 11% of the variations in women's awareness of the warning signs of cancer was predicted by this variable. Conclusion: Considering the low level of knowledge of women about the warning signs of cancer, there is a need to active role of community health nurses for implementing intervention programs in the society from childhood to adulthood, supported by health policy makers.