Accessibility to breast cancer screening
The study sought to find out how accessible the respondents were to breast cancer
screening services. The study determined the respondents income range, whether
they had any insurance cover including NHIF, whether they had been screened for
breast cancer before and how much they paid for the service and the mode of
transport they use when going to hospital.
Table Range of monthly income
Income range Frequency Percentage
<Ksh. 10,000 78 65.0
Ksh. 10,000-20,000 36 30.0
Ksh. 21,000-30,000 3 2.5
>30,000 3 2.5
The analysis in Table indicate that out of 120 women who participated in the
study, 78 (65%) earn less than Ksh. 10,000 and 36 (30%) earn between Ksh.
10,000 to Ksh.
20,000 and only 6 (5%) earn more than Ksh. 20,000 and out of 120 respondents.
67.5% do not have any insurance cover including the NHIF. This shows that
majority of market
women in Nairobi cannot afford to go for breast cancer screening and should they
happen to develop breast cancer then they may not be able to pay for treatment or
management.
The study shows that out of the 120 women who participated in the study, 57.5%
of the respondents use public transport while going to hospital, 39.17% walk and
only 4% use personal vehicle while travelling to hospital. The women admitted
having no problem in travelling to the health centers. This shows that the location
of the health centers is within the reach of the market women in Nairobi. The
finding of the study is contrary to the study by Lyimo and Tanya (2012) to identify
the most important factors related to the uptake of cervical cancer screening among
women in a rural district of Tanzania who found out that distance to the facility
which provide cancer screening were significantly associated with screening
acceptance.
From the study, out of the 120 women who participated in the study, only 30.833%
of the respondents have been screened for breast cancer and 81% of them have
been screened for free. This shows that market women do not go for breast cancer
screening on their own volition and only do so during free cancer screening
campaigns.
Perception and acceptance of breast cancer screening
Out of the 120 respondents, 5.83% of them strongly agreed that breast cancer only
affects women aged 40 years and above, none of the respondent agreed, 16.67%
were neutral, 60.83% disagreed and 16.67 strongly disagreed as shown in Table
below.
Table 4.7: Breast cancer occurrence and age of women
Level of agreement Respondents Percentage
Strongly agree 7 5.8
Agree 0 0.0
neutral 20 16.7
Disagree 73 60.8
Strongly disagree 20 16.7
From the result, majority of the respondents disagreed on whether breast cancer
only affects women aged 40 years and above and therefore they believe that breast
cancer can as well develop in women aged below 40 years. From the results, a
mean of 4.9130 and a standard deviation of 0.83253 were obtained, this shows that
majority of Market women have very positive perception that breast cancer can
also affect women below 40 years.
None of the respondents strongly agreed that breast cancer only affect women with
a family history of the disease, 28.335 agreed, 16.67 were neutral 44.17%
disagreed and 10.83% strongly disagreed as shown in Table below.
Table: Breast cancer effect among women with a family history of the disease
Level of agreement Respondents Percentage
Strongly agree 0 0.0
Agree 34 28.3
neutral 20 16.7
Disagree 53 44.2
Strongly disagree 13 10.8
From the results, over 50% of the respondents believe that breast cancer was not
only common in women with a family history of the disease but also other families
as well. From the result a mean of 4.0870 and a standard deviation of 1.35344 were
obtained signifying a positive perception that any woman can develop breast
cancer not necessarily those with a history of the disease. The finding of the study
is contrary to the study conducted by Katapodi et al, (2009) to describe perceived
breast cancer risk, identify the percentage of women with inaccurate risk
perception and examine the influence of perceived and objective risk on screening
behaviour in a community settings in a metropolitan area on the Western coast of
the United States using a multicultural sample of 184 English-speaking women
who have never been diagnosed with cancer who found out that family history of
breast cancer was a significant predictor of perceived risk and most women at high
risk for breast cancer (89%) underestimated their actual risk.
No respondent strongly agreed that breast cancer can only develop in women with
formal employment, 16.67% agreed, 5.83 were neutral, 50% disagreed and 27.5%
strongly disagreed as shown in Table 4.9 below.
Table: Breast cancer effect among women with formal employment
Level of agreement Respondents Percentage
Strongly agree 0 0.0
Agree 20 16.7
neutral 7 5.8
Disagree 60 50.0
Strongly disagree 33 27.5
From the result, majority of the respondents believe that breast cancer can not only
develop in women with formal employment but also those in informal sector. From
the above results a mean of 4.5217 and a standard deviation of 1.06173 were
obtained signifying majority of market women are positive that breast cancer can
develop in women both in formal and informal employment.
16.67% of the respondents strongly agreed that breast cancer treatment was
painful, 55.83% agreed, 21.67% were neutral, no respondent disagreed and only
5% strongly disagreed
