The effect of self-care training programs on lifestyle and breast self-examination of immigrant Afghan women

Elaha Jafari; Mahnaz Zarshenas; Monireh Toosi; Azar Nematollahi; Mehrab Sayadi

doi:10.4103/jehp.jehp_332_22

The effect of self-care training programs on lifestyle and breast self-examination of immigrant Afghan women

J Educ Health Promot. 2023 Jan 31:12:14. doi: 10.4103/jehp.jehp_332_22. eCollection 2023.

Authors

Elaha Jafari¹, Mahnaz Zarshenas², Monireh Toosi², Azar Nematollahi², Mehrab Sayadi³

Affiliations

¹ Student Research Committee, Shiraz University of Medical Sciences, Shiraz, Iran, B.Department of Midwifery, School of Medical Technology and Midwifery, Khatam Al-Nabieen University, Kabul, Afghanistan.
² Department of Midwifery, School of Nursing and Midwifery, Shiraz University of Medical Sciences, Shiraz, Iran.
³ Biostatistics Cardiovascular Research Center, Shiraz University of Medical Sciences, Shiraz, Iran.

Abstract

Background: Breast cancer is the most prevalent cancer and a major cause of mortality among women. Breast self-examination (BSE) is a key technique for early diagnosis of breast cancer, which, along with lifestyle changes, can alleviate the risk of mortality. This study aimed to examine the effect of self-care training programs on lifestyle change and BSE of immigrant Afghan women residing in Iran.

Materials and methods: In this quasi-experimental study, 140 immigrant Afghan women visiting health-care centers in Shiraz (Iran) were selected via convenience sampling during 2019-2020. The data were collected using a lifestyle questionnaire, a demographic information checklist, and a BSE checklist. Following the pretest, the experimental group received three sessions of self-care training and took the posttest 2 months after the intervention. The control group did not receive any intervention, but took the same posttest 2 months after the pretest. Data analysis was performed using paired and independent t-test and Chi-squared test in Statistical Package for the Social Sciences (SPSS) 22.

Results: The post-intervention level of knowledge and performance of the experimental group significantly increased in terms of a healthy lifestyle (P < 0.001) and performance of BSE (P < 0.001) compared to the control group. The intervention also had a significant positive effect (P < 0.000) on all dimensions of lifestyle.

Conclusion: Self-care training for lifestyle and BSE can promote the prevention and early diagnosis of breast cancer in immigrant Afghan women who have limited access to health care.

Keywords: Breast Self-examination; immigrants; lifestyle; self-care; women.