risk perception and preventive issues for breast cancer among female employees

accounts for 27% of all cancers. according to the national cancer institutes' reports, the risk of breast cancer among american women is 13%. the current study aims to evaluate the level of risk perception of breast cancer and to identify its related factors amongst female employees. methods: this project was a cross-sectional study and participants were female employees working in hospitals and other organizations in the city of ilam,iran. a standard questionnaire was prepared using the gail's model. excluding criteria for perception risk were age less than 20 years and a history of breast cancer. results: two hundred forty nine women participated in the study, and their mean age and standard deviation were 33.4 and 7 years respectively. the participants were divided into the medical and non- medical employee groups. ninety seven point two percent of the participants had high school diploma or higher education levels, and 80.3% were married. twelve subjects (4.8%) had a history of breast cancer among their first- grade relatives (mother or sisters); and 16 subjects had a history of breast cancer among their second- grade relatives. occupation, familial history of cancer and breast tissue biopsy were significantly related to perception risk in this study, and the breast cancer perception risk was higher in the medical group compared to the non-medical group. conclusion: most women did not show a true estimation of breast cancer; however, those working in the relevant professions such as nurses and midwives can show a higher estimation. a higher knowledge of breast cancer will result in a higher perception risk and chasing relevant preventive and remedial cares. keywords: perception risk; calculated risk; women employees; breast cancer references 1. breast cancer statistics.  http://www . breastcancer.org/ symptoms/understand bc/statistics.jsp. last modified on: sept, 2010, access date oct. 2010. 2.  probability of breast cancer in american women. national institute cancer fact sheet. http://www.cancer.gov/ cancertopics/factsheet/detection/probability-breast-cancer. access date oct. 2010 . 3. mousavi sm,  gouya mm,  ramazani r, davanlou m,   hajsadeghi n ,  seddighi z. cancer incidence and mortality in iran. ann oncol 2009; 20 (3): 556-63. 4. hagh azali m,davanlo m,sedighi z,partovi poor e,ramezani r, jalal r, et al. iranian annual cancer registration report 2005/2006. ministry of health and medical education, health deputy, center for disease control and prevention [in persian]; 2007. 5. bland k, beenken sw, copeland em. the breast. in: schwartz's principles of surgery. 8th ed. new york: mc graw hill; 2005. 6. novak e, berek j. novak's gynecology. 13th ed. philadelphia: lippincott williams & wilkins; 2002. 7. gemignani m: disorder of the breast. in: danforth's obstetrics and gynecology 10th ed. philadelphia: lippincott williams & wilkins; 2008. 8. vahdaninia m , montazeri a . breast cancer in iran: a survival analysis. asian pac j cancer prev. 2004 apr-jun; 5(2):223-5. 9. doherty g: current diagnosis and treatment surgery. 13th ed. usa: mc graw hill, 2009. 10. graves kristi d, huerta e, cullen j, kaufman e, sheppard v, luta g, et al. perceived risk of breast cancer among latinas attending community clinics: risk comprehension and relationship with mammography adherence. cancer causes control 2008; 19:1373-82. 11. ceber e, soyer mt, ciceklioglu m, cimat s: breast cancer risk assessment and risk perception on nurses and midwives in bornova health district in turkey. cancer nurs 2006; 29:244-9. 12. katapodi mc, lee ka, facione nc, dodd mj.predictors of perceived breast cancer risk and the relation between perceived risk and breast cancer screening: a meta-analytic review. prev med 2004; 38:388-402. 13. skinner c. perceived and actual breast cancer risk. journal of health psychology 1998; 3:181-93. 14. madanat h, merrill rm. breast cancer risk-factor and screening awareness among women nurses and teachers in amman, jordan. cancer nurs 2002; 25:276-82. 15. smith bl , gadd ma , lawler c , macdonald dj , grudberg sc , chi fs , et al. perception of breast cancer risk among women in breast center and primary care settings: correlation with age and family history of breast cancer. surgery 1996; 120:297-303. 16. pöhls ug, renner sp, fasching pa, lux mp, kreis h, ackermann s, et al. awareness of breast cancer incidence and risk factors among healthy women. eur j cancer prev 2004, 13:249-56. 17. peragallo n, fox p, alba ml. acculturation and breast self-examination among immigrant latina women in the usa. int nurs rev 2000; 47:38-45. 18. bakhtiari a, hajian k, faramarzi m. investigation of the relationship between individual factors, social factors and the manner of life in women suffering from breast cancer babol university of medical sciences, gynecology, 2002.