A cross-cultural comparison between Cypriot and Egyptian women, on their perceptions of breast self-examination as a screening method for breast cancer

Breast cancer is the leading cause of death among Cypriot and Egyptian women. When breast self-examination (BSE) is done regularly, it can be an effective method for early detection. The aim of this research was to compare the beliefs and practices of BSE between Cypriot and Egyptian women, using independent samples of women from the two countries. A cross-sectional, descriptive, correlational design was used, with a pre-coded self-administered questionnaire. The final sample included 354 Cypriot and 400 Egyptian women. The Greek and Arabic versions of Champion's Health Belief Model (CHBM) were used as tools for this study. Results revealed that about 65% of Cypriot women had practiced BSE at least once in the past, as opposed to a significantly lower percentage (about 35%) for Egyptian women (p<0.001). Descriptive statistics were obtained for the six subscales of the CHBM and it was found that the highest mean was for "Motivation" (3.9 for Cypriots and 3.5 for Egyptians), while the lowest mean was for Barriers (2.1 for Cypriots and 2.5 for Egyptians). The results also showed that two variables, age (p<0.001) and personal history of breast cancer (p<0.001) significantly affected the performance of BSE for all the women in the study sample. In conclusion, this study has shown that there were many differences between Cypriot and Egyptian women in relation to their perceptions regarding the practice of BSE. These differences could be attributed to cultural factors, especially those related to Barriers on behalf of Egyptian women. Recommendations of this study include emphasis on the importance of BSE education, maximization of the role of health care providers in training of women on BSE and finally, well-designed awareness programs must be adapted according to culture and special characteristics of women.