Austrian women's attitudes toward and knowledge of breast self-examination

Background. Education of women to perform breast self-examination is a main objective of cancer societies worldwide. Methods. By means of a questionna ire, 975 healthy women in an Austria-wide population based cross-sectional study were asked about their knowledge of breast self-examination (BSE) and mammography, and their cancer histories. Results. 92% of the women knew BS E but only 31% practiced it thoroughly. Women living in rural communities w ith a life companion and younger women were more likely to practice BSE. Wo men who had family histories of cancer, especially older women, performed B SE significantly more often. There was a trend towards increasing BSE with increasing personal perception of the risk of cancer, especially among olde r women. The study showed a positive association between BSE and screening mammography. Conclusions. Although knowledge of BSE is widespread, it is ac tually practiced by only one third of women. Older women but not young wome n carry out BSE significantly more often when they have family histories of cancer. Information campaigns should target specific groups and emphasize the effectiveness of properly done BSE.