The relationship of Health belief and breast self-examination among university students in Iran

Background: Breast cancer is a major health issue. Breast self-examination is a method to diagnose breast cancer early. One of the models to introduce and manage health related behaviors like breast cancer screening is the health belief Model. We aimed to determine the relationship between the health beliefs with breast self-examination (BSE) among university students . Methods: This is a cross-sectional study, which 247 medical and paramedical students in the National University of Medical Sciences in Rasht, Iran in 2010 recruited. Data were gathered by Champion’s health belief model scale, which its validity, reliability and psychometric properties have been shown in someseparate studies. Data were analyzed by descriptive and inferential statistics .Results: The mean age of samples was 21.76± 6.6 years. Students who had a positive family history of breast cancer have done BSE more (9.2% vs 82.2%, p< 0.05). The mean grade of Health belief questionnaire for most samples was low (61.94%, n= 153). The students health belief had a statistically significant relationship with their performance of BSE (p < .05 .) Conclusion: It is vital to get aware of the health beliefs of medical and paramedical students regarding BSE because they are seen as the model of health action, in addition positive behaviors and attitude about BSE will enable students to perform effective preventing tests for breast cancer. According to the results, women s knowledge and attitude regarding BSE should improve through educational programs