Abstract

Background:
Breast cancer (BC) is one of the most dangerous and common female cancers that lead to mortality in the majority of cases. Its prevalence is increasing globally. Knowledge regarding the disease is very essential in the early examination of breast cancer which could decrease the complications and mortality rates of the disease to larger extent. The rural areas lack resources, has limited economic growth and low level of education which could affect the awareness regarding such disease among the resident population. The present study was aimed at investigating the knowledge of breast cancer among rural women in the Saudi Arabian population.
Methodology
A cross-sectional study was conducted on women from rural areas of Saudi Arabia during the period between September 2018 to March 2019. The study employed a pre-designed questionnaire composed of two parts the first one investigating the demographics of the participants and the second part investigating their knowledge levels.
Results:
There were 400 females participated in this study, more than half of them (62%) were in the age range 20-39 years old. The mean ±SD of knowledge score was 37.52±11.7, there were 62.3% subjects who had a good level of knowledge. Age, education, marital status and economic conditions were significantly associated with the level of knowledge.
Conclusion:
The study found that the level of knowledge about BC among rural women in this study was better than those reported previously among different regions from Saudi Arabia. The variation in the results may be attributed to the high education rates, age, and economic conditions which were positively associated with the level of knowledge regarding the disease.

Key words: Knowledge, breast cancer, rural women.