I. Tessaro et C. Herman, Changes in public health nurses' knowledge and perception of counseling and clinical skills for breast and cervical cancer control, CANCER NURS, 23(5), 2000, pp. 401-405
This study discusses the findings from two surveys of 459 nurses working in
public health about their knowledge and perception of counseling and clini
cal skills related to breast and cervical cancer control. The First survey
was conducted in 1993 before professional education efforts with the Breast
and Cervical Cancer Control Program (BCCCP) began in North Carolina. The s
econd survey was carried out in 1996. The results show a significant increa
se from 1993 to 1996 in recognition of increasing age, nulliparity, late ch
ildbearing, and family history as risk factors for breast cancer, and for s
moking and early age at first sexual intercourse as risk factors for cervic
al cancer. Nurses' skills were more likely to be rated as excellent or very
good in 1996 as compared with ratings in 1993 for educating women about ma
mmography, performing a clinical breast examination, teaching breast self-e
xamination by demonstration, performing a Papanicolaou (Pap) smear and bima
nual examination, and counseling women about abnormal Pap tests. Nurses who
took a BCCCP-sponsored adult physical assessment course were more likely t
o know correct risk factors for breast and cervical cancer, and to show imp
rovement in teaching breast self-examination, performing a Pap smear, and c
ounseling women about abnormal Pap tests.