International Journal of

ADVANCED AND APPLIED SCIENCES

EISSN: 2313-3724, Print ISSN: 2313-626X

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 Volume 13, Issue 9 (September 2026), Pages: 123-129

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 Original Research Paper

Enhancing breast cancer awareness through a nursing-led training program for Saudi university staff: A quasi-experimental study

 Author(s): 

Mohammed Elsayed Zaky 1, 2, *, Abeer Nuwayfi Alruwaili 3, Shaimaa Ahmed Awad Ali 1, 4, Fatma Zaghloul Mahmoud 5, 6, Shahenda A. Salih 7, Amira Abd El-Azeem Mohamed Yossif 8, Amoura Soliman Behairy 9, 10, Naglaa Hassan Abu ElZahab 5, Heba Tallah Elashmawy Mohamed Shaban 5, 6, Eman Said Abo El Ella Hassan 6, 11, Basma M. Korany 2, 9, Nermen Abdelftah Mohamed 8, 12, Shahira Mohamed Metwaly 13, Mohammed Ali Pessa 14, Shimaa Magdy Farghaly 1, 2

 Affiliation(s):

1Department of Medical Surgical Nursing, College of Nursing, Jouf University, Sakaka, Saudi Arabia
2Department of Medical Surgical Nursing, Faculty of Nursing, Cairo University, Cairo, Egypt
3Department of Nursing Administration and Education, College of Nursing, Jouf University, Sakaka, Saudi Arabia
4Department of Critical Care and Emergency Nursing, Faculty of Nursing, Mansoura University, Mansoura, Egypt
5Department of Maternal & Child Health Nursing, College of Nursing, Majmaah University, Al Majmaah 11952, Saudi Arabia
6Department of Maternal and Newborn Health Nursing, Faculty of Nursing, Cairo University, Cairo, Egypt
7Department of Maternity and Child Health Nursing, College of Nursing, Jouf University, Sakaka, Saudi Arabia
8Department of Medical Surgical Nursing, College of Nursing, Prince Sattam Bin Abdulaziz University, Al-Kharj, Saudi Arabia
9Department of Advanced Nursing Care, College of Nursing, Majmaah University, Al Majmaah 11952, Saudi Arabia
10Department of Medical Surgical Nursing, Faculty of Nursing, Menoufia University, Shebin Alkom, Egypt
11Department of Maternity and Child Health Nursing, Faculty of Nursing, University of Tabuk, Tabuk, Saudi Arabia
12Department of Adult Nursing, Faculty of Nursing, Kafrelsheikh University, Kafrelsheikh, Egypt
13Department of Community Health Nursing, Faculty of Nursing, October 6 University, October 6 City, Egypt
14Department of Nursing Administration, College of Nursing, Majmaah University, Al Majmaah 11952, Saudi Arabia

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 * Corresponding Author. 

   Corresponding author's ORCID profile:  https://orcid.org/0000-0002-4244-1459

 Digital Object Identifier (DOI)

 
https://doi.org/10.21833/ijaas.2026.09.012

 Abstract

Breast cancer is a major health problem worldwide, particularly in Saudi Arabia, where it is often diagnosed in younger women and at more advanced stages than in Western countries. Breast self-examination (BSE) is a low-cost method, but knowledge and practice remain limited. This study aimed to assess the effect of a nursing-led BSE education program on the knowledge and practice of non-medical female staff. A one-group pretest–posttest study was conducted with 60 female staff at Jouf University. The program was based on Roy’s Adaptation Model and included structured teaching sessions and practical demonstrations using a silicone breast model. Participants were assessed before the program, immediately afterward, and two months later. A validated knowledge test and a 20-item BSE checklist were used. Mean knowledge scores increased from 5.17 (SD = 1.74) at baseline to 9.18 (SD = 0.43) after the intervention. Mean practice scores increased from 1.53 (SD = 2.46) to 20.0 (SD = 5.6). Improvements remained at follow-up. Both outcomes showed statistical significance (p = 0.001). The findings suggest that nursing-led education may improve BSE knowledge and practical skills among female university staff.

 © 2026 The Authors. Published by IASE.

 This is an open access article under the CC BY-NC-ND license (https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc-nd/4.0/).

 Keywords

Breast self-examination, Nursing education, Knowledge assessment, Health education, Breast cancer awareness

 Article history

Received 12 May 2026, Received in revised form 26 August 2026, Accepted 21 September 2026

 Acknowledgment

The authors would like to express their sincere gratitude to all female non-medical staff members who voluntarily participated in this study. Their time, cooperation, and active engagement during the educational sessions and follow-up assessments were essential to the successful completion of this research. 

 Compliance with ethical standards

 Ethical considerations

Ethical approval was btained from The Local Committee of Bioethics (LCBE), Jouf University NO (6-04-45). All procedures involving human participants were conducted in accordance with the ethical standards of the institutional and/or national research committee, and with the 1964 Helsinki Declaration and its later amendments. 

 Conflict of interest: The author(s) declared no potential conflicts of interest with respect to the research, authorship, and/or publication of this article.

 Citation:

Zaky ME, Alruwaili AN, Ali SAA, Mahmoud FZ, Salih SA, Yossif AAEAM, Behairy AS, ElZahab NHA, Shaban HTEM, Hassan ESAEE, Korany BM, Mohamed NA, Metwaly SM, Pessa MA, and Farghaly SM (2026). Enhancing breast cancer awareness through a nursing-led training program for Saudi university staff: A quasi-experimental study. International Journal of Advanced and Applied Sciences, 13(9): 123-129

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