Breast Self-Examination: The Effects of Prescribed Frequency on Adherence, Accuracy, and Detection Ability

The purpose of our study was to determine the effects of prescribed rates of breast self-examination (BSE) on reported frequency of BSE per year. Fifty-one women were divided at random into three groups: a weekly prescription, every-two-weeks prescription, and monthly prescription. All women were trained to competence prior to receiving their prescription for BSE. A repeated-measures ANOV A showed that all three groups of women significantly increased (p < .05) the number of BSE steps performed after training. Significant (p < .05) differences among groups were observed for reported BSE frequency. The women who were prescribed weekly exams averaged over 14 a year, the two-week group averaged over 11 a year, and the monthly group averaged over seven a year. It was concluded that BSE frequency could be enhanced by a more frequent prescription (e.g., weekly). These results require confirmation with more representative (i.e., older) women prior to generalization.