@article{Poniedziałek_Rebelka_Makowska_Piotrowska_Karczewski_Rzymski_2014, title={Do we need to improve breast cancer education? Attitude towards breast self-examination and screening programmes among Polish women}, volume={83}, url={https://jms.ump.edu.pl/index.php/JMS/article/view/85}, DOI={10.20883/medical.e85}, abstractNote={Introduction. Breast cancer is a global health threat which requires systematic basic health education and increasing the public attention and awareness. Therefore, breast self-examination (BSE), however controversial, was largely promoted in many countries including Poland. Moreover, the national breast screening programmes (BSP) were made available to general public. <br />Aim. The study investigated the attitude towards BSE, BSP and breast cancer as a health threat among Polish women in relation to age, education, place of living and economical status. <br />Material and methods. An anonymous questionnaire was completed by 751 Polish women. The results were statistically elaborated.<br />Results. The majority of women declared to know how to perform BSE but only a small part (older females) practiced it regularly (once a month). National BSP were acknowledged by most of surveyed. The higher awareness of BSP was found for women with higher education and economical status whereas the lowest – for women inhabiting small villages and performing BSE rarely or never. Medical doctors and other medical staff were an insignificant source of BSP. Most of responders recognized breast cancer as a serious health threat in Poland. <br />Conclusion. The general awareness of BSP and BSE among Polish women is satisfactory, yet the percentage of females performing BSE on regular basis remains too low. There is a need to increase the contribution of medical staff in breast cancer education and control activities.}, number={4}, journal={Journal of Medical Science}, author={Poniedziałek, Barbara and Rebelka, Magdalena and Makowska, Kinga and Piotrowska, Justyna and Karczewski, Jacek and Rzymski, Piotr}, year={2014}, month={Dec.}, pages={313–317} }