THE PINK OCTOBER CAMPAIGN AS A TOOL FOR BREAST CANCER AWARENESS: A STUDY OF STUDENTS AT MASINDE MULIRO UNIVERSITY OF SCIENCE AND TECHNOLOGY

Abstract

The Pink October Campaign is a global month-long event that is held annually to create awareness about Breast Cancer (B.C) signs and symptoms, treatability and preventive measures.B.C is the leading and most common type of Cancer affecting people of all ages and is most prevalent among women while affecting 1% of men globally.In addition, western countries such as the United States of America have a survival rate of 86% within the first 5 years due to early diagnosis stemming from awareness creation efforts while Sub-Saharan Africa has a survival rate of 40% due to late diagnosis. In Kenya, B.C is the most prevalent type of cancer accounting for 23% of all new cancer cases with 70% of these cases diagnosed in the later stages 3 and 4 when it is most difficult to treat leading to a high mortality rate of 45%.The World Health Organisation (WHO) recommends awareness creation through campaigns such as the Pink October and regular B.C screening as the primary preventive measures. This study investigated the extent to which the Pink October campaign influences breast health seeking behaviour among students of Masinde Muliro University of Science and Technology (MMUST) in Kakamega County, Kenya. This study sought to examine the knowledge levels among MMUST students regarding B.C symptoms, treatability and prevention, establish the communication channels used during the Pink October campaign that were encountered by MMUST Students and to determine the effectiveness of the Pink October campaign in influencing MMUST students to undergo voluntary screening for B.C. The study was underpinned by the Elaboration Likelihood Model theory (ELM) and the Health Belief Model (HBM). It employed the explanatory sequential research design that is both quantitative and qualitative. Data collection tools included Questionnaires that were administered to a representative sample of 400 students selected through Multi-stage cluster sampling and Proportionate stratified sampling from the target population of university students from Masinde Muliro University of Science and Technology (MMUST). Two Focus Group Discussions (FGDs) of 8 students per group selected through purposive sampling were also conducted. Secondary data was collected from relevant literature in journal publications, Pamphlets, Textbooks and the Internet. Quantitative data was analysed using descriptive statistics and was presented as frequencies, percentages and discussions while qualitative data was analysed through transcribing the responses from the FGDs, grouping them into themes and presenting them based on patterns and contrasts that emerged. Findings were presented in form of tables, charts and discussions.The study established that 89.5% of the 400 respondents and all sixteen FGD participants had heard about B.C while 3.5% had not been exposed to any B.C awareness messages. At least 7 % of the 400 respondents were convinced to undergo voluntary screening for B.C by the Pink October Campaign. These findings will be utilized by the Ministry of Health to improve the outcomes of the awareness strategies in use by focusing on the significance of B.C screening as a primary preventive measure.