The Investigation On The Predictors Of Prevention Behavior For Breast Can- Cer Among Female College Students Using The Health Belief Model(HBM)

Objectives:To investigate breast cancer prevention behaviors and health beliefs of female college students in Hangzhou; To analysis the influence factors of female college students’ prevention behaviors with the health beliefs model and provide suggestions and countermeasures for promoting the prevention of breast cancer and health care of female college students.Methods:1141 female college students from 5 universities in Hangzhou were investigated by a self-designed questionnaire. A correlation analysis was conducted on the relationship between the health beliefs and prevention related behaviors of female college students, which was based on the descriptive analysis of the health beliefs and prevention behaviors of those students. And a regression analysis was used to explore the main influencing factors of breast cancer prevention behaviors of female college students.Results:1. The reliability and validity of the health beliefs scale (CHBMS) was relatively good, which was suitable for the investigation of breast cancer health beliefs of female college students. The Cronbach’s alpha coefficients of each dimension of the scale were between 0.683-0.939, and the correlation coefficients between each dimension and scale were between 0.305-0.683, and KMO value is 0.879.2. The health beliefs scores of female college students in each dimension except the susceptibility and the total average score are higher than 3, the theoretical average score, which indicated that they had a good level of health beliefs. The health belief dimension of female college students also were affected by different nationality, grade, academic, professional, whether or not a medical student, family income, family history of breast disease and breast care pathways.3. The rates of breast self-examination of college students were relatively low. There were significant differences of the rate of breast self-examination among female college students with different grades, different educations, different professionals,, with or without history of suffering and with or without breast care pathway.4. The binary logistic regression analysis on female college students’prevention behaviors found that behaviors of female college students were affected by perceived susceptibility, interests of cognition, barriers of cognition, self-efficacy, professionals, with or without history of suffering and breast care pathways. And these dimensions could explain 32.60% of the variance in prevention behavior.Conclusion:The rates of breast self-examination of college students in Hangzhou were generally low. A full range of improvement for college students’ the health awareness from the students themselves, family and school should be promoted so that female college students can develop a good habit of self-examination. At the same time, we should improve the breast health awareness of female college students by increasing the health beliefs.