An Evaluation Study of a Breast Health Education Program for Adolescent Girls

The purpose of this study was to evaluate the YWCA of Greater Cincinnati Great Beginnings BreastHealth Promotion Program in knowledge of breast self exam, ability to identify steps to good breasthealth, intention of performing monthly breast self exam, and perceived effectiveness of breast self exam as a breast cancer detection method. The study was a secondary data analysis and utilized no control group. Initial assessment and post-test data were collected over a two year period at 12 high schools in a Midwestern city and included 1,068 participants. An overwhelming majority (95.9%, n=955) of participants reported an intention to perform monthly breast self exam following the program presentation. The majority (79.7%, n=851) of the participants also were able to recall one or more of the three steps to good breast health identified in the program, which included breast self exam (78.4%, n=837), mammogram (59.2%, n=632), and clinical breast exam (44.5%, n=475). The initial assessment and post-test showed the participants’ knowledge of breast self exam, ability to identify steps to good breast health, and intention to perform monthly breast self exam. Interrelationships were found between the age and race of the participants and how they responded to initial assessment and post-test questions.