Impact of Pharmacist-led educational services in promoting breast cancer awareness

Abstract

Abstract Background Breast cancer is rapidly increasing worldwide. Pakistan has a high incidence rate of 1 in every nine women. The lack of awareness is the remarkable reason for delayed diagnosis, thus resulting in high mortality. In this study, we aimed to determine the impact of pharmacist-led breast cancer education at community pharmacies in promoting breast cancer awareness. Methodology: A longitudinal pre-post intervention study was conducted on 319 participants using a self-designed questionnaire. During the pre-intervention phase, participants were interviewed at various community pharmacies and were administered with the questionnaires. The provision of breast cancer educational session followed the session. After three months, the participants were interviewed by phone, and the questionnaires were filled in again during the post-intervention phase. Data was analyzed using SPSS version 25. Results The pre-post phase data evaluation reported improved breast cancer awareness among the study participants, where there was a significant increase (p = 0.000) in awareness of breast cancer symptoms, risk factors, and diagnostic techniques. There was also a marked increase (93.8%) in breast self-examination practice during the post-intervention phase. In fact, knowledge about clinical breast examination improved from 8.5% (pre-intervention phase) to 84.4% (post-intervention phase). Additionally, the awareness about mammography as an essential screening technique improved markedly, where approximately 34.7% of eligible women went to have mammography in the post-intervention phase. Conclusion Pharmacists, being competent healthcare professionals, play an important role in contributing to public health promotion activities. Therefore, pharmacist-led educational services should be employed to improve breast cancer awareness and for better disease control.