Effect of Family Income on Knowledge, Attitude and Practices Regarding Breast Cancer and its Screening Methods Amongst Women of Lahore, Pakistan

Article history: Received on: 17/01/2017 Accepted on: 14/07/2017 Available online: 30/08/2017 The study aimed to examine the effects of total family income of a household on the knowledge, attitude and practices regarding breast cancer and its screening methods amongst women of Lahore. A cross -sectional survey was conducted on 504 randomly selected women using a self-administered, structured questionnaire. The study suggested a direct relationship between the household income and the knowledge of women. Mean knowledge was 37.8% in the group having an income of PKR<10,000. The groups having incomes PKR10,000-30,000, PKR30,000-60,000 and PKR>60,000 had mean knowledge 44.4%, 62.7% and 66.47% respectively. Attitudes and practices were independent of the income. However, participants with a monthly income of PKR>10,000 had a general trend of better breast self-exam practices. All the groups almost equally realized the importance of performing BSE, although, the overall practice score was low (35.4%). Findings suggested that overall knowledge was relatively weak in all participants, being lowest in the low-income groups.