Exploration of Barriers to Breast-Self Examination among Urban Women in Shah Alam, Malaysia: A Cross Sectional Study

Background: Breast cancer is the most common cancer among women in Malaysia. Barriers for practicing breast self examination (BSE) await exploration. Objective: To assess the practice of BSE and its correlated factors and particularly barriers amongst urban women in Malaysia. Methods: This cross-sectional study was conducted with 222 Malaysian women using a self-administered questionnaire. Results: The mean (SD) age was 28.5 (${\pm}9.2$) years, 59.0% were university graduates. Of the total, 81.1% were aware of breast cancer and 55% practiced BSE. Amongst 45% of respondents who did not practice BSE, 79.8% did not know how to do it, 60.6% feared being diagnosed with breast cancer, 59.6% were worried about detecting breast cancer, 22% reported that they should not touch their bodies, 44% and 28% reported BSE is embarrassing or unpleasant, 29% time consuming, 22% thought they would never have breast cancer or it is ineffective and finally 20% perceived BSE as unimportant. Logistic regression modeling showed that respondents aged ${\geq}45$ years, being Malay, married and having a high education level were more likely to practice BSE (p