A COMPARATIVE STUDY ON BREAST SELF-EXAMINATION AWARENESS AND PRACTICES AMONG EDUCATED WOMEN ACROSS VARIOUS AGE GROUPS IN THE LOCAL POPULATION OF LAHORE, PAKISTAN

Abstract

Objective: This study aimed to evaluate the level of awareness and practice of breast self-examination (BSE) among women of different educational backgrounds and age groups.

Methods: A cross-sectional survey was carried out using Google Forms distributed to women of various age brackets and educational levels. Only females aged 18 years and above with formal education were included, while uneducated participants were excluded. A total of 390 women participated in the study.

Results: Out of 390 participants, awareness of BSE was reported by 65.76% of women aged 20–30 years, 18.38% aged 30–40 years, 22.87% aged 40–50 years, 13.07% aged 50–60 years, and 6.12% aged over 60 years. Awareness was higher among women with advanced education: 4.07% had completed matriculation, 8.98% intermediate, 68.21% bachelor’s, and 44.93% master’s degrees.

Conclusion: The findings indicated greater awareness of BSE among younger women, with a clear positive association between educational attainment and awareness levels. However, middle-aged and older women demonstrated a higher frequency of performing BSE