Breast Examination Lesson Plan: Public Health Training for Women

This assignment presents a comprehensive lesson plan focused on breast examination and breast cancer awareness. It begins with a needs assessment, identifying the target audience as women and evaluating their existing knowledge of breast cancer and its risks. The lesson plan is divided into three parts, covering topics such as cancer definition, statistics, risk factors, breast anatomy, and the rationale for each step of the examination process. It includes detailed instructions on how to perform a breast self-exam (BSE), normal breast changes, and healthy lifestyle factors. The learning objectives aim to increase awareness of breast cancer, promote early detection through BSE, and improve attitudes towards screening. The lesson plan also addresses participants' feelings about male physicians conducting breast screenings and aims to dispel misconceptions about breast cancer. The plan includes a list of resources, learning objectives, and a rationale for each objective, emphasizing the importance of BSE for early cancer detection and improved health outcomes. The assignment concludes with a list of references supporting the information presented.

BREAST EXAMINATION LESSON PLAN
Student name
Professor’s name
Affiliation
Date

Audience and Learning Topic
The audience in this lesson plan is comprised of women who will be the participants in
the training session and the topic is ‘how to carry out breast self-exams.’
Assessment needs
Summary of Needs Assessment
Population that is to be studied - The audience in this lesson is comprised of women
who will take part in the proposed training session.
Scope of the project and potential participants – this training session will involve a group
of women who will take part of the training session.
Goals of the needs assessment and methods of Data collection – the objective of
carrying out the needs assessment is to accrue what the participants know and what they do not
know in order to plan well for the lesson. (Yarber, Sayad & Strong 2013).
Revising needs assessment plan
Learning Objectives
i. To provide breast cancer information, related risks and signs and symptoms to
women, which includes:
o Instruction on BSE step by step
o Mammography screening
o Regular examination by health experts
ii. To give the importance of breast cancer awareness.
iii. To communicate with the audience in a manner as to give the necessary information
and reduce their anxiety.
PART ONE
Learning Needs Assessment

Population that is to be studied - The audience in this lesson is comprised of women
who will take part in the proposed training session.
Scope of the project and potential participants – this training session will involve women
who will take part of the training session and the external players who may be interested
attending the training session.
i. Goals of the needs assessment
ii. Resources available for the needs assessment.
iii. Methods of assessment
iv. Summary
The teaching will involve all members in the health practice. Team members will be
encouraged to share information and dialogue. The audience needs awareness on breast cancer
and the importance of breast self-exam. The participants need to understand philosophies of
healthcare and how they relate to breast cancer awareness and self-examination. (Yarber, Sayad
& Strong 2013).
Study Setting
The presentation will be carried out at a local church setup with complete a structured
questionnaire which designed to measure the level of knowledge of the participants about breast
cancer and its risks. The lesson will last for one and half hours
Data Collection
Interviews and questionnaires were the main techniques of data collection in the needs
assessment for this lesson plan. Interviews were held with the participants in order to obtain
required information, all carried out with written informed consents.
The answers of the participants about breast cancer and its risks was generally good, with
a large percentage giving excellent responses. The most difficult questions were those that
related to mammography and reducing the death rate of the disease and the impact of
postmenopausal obesity on elevating the risk level of breast cancer.

From the respondents, it was observed that proportion o the respondents believed that a
rest lump could vanish away by itself while others believed that mammography itself could
induce cancer. A small percentage believed that most women could not afford breast healthcare
due to limited finances. A good number of them also believed that generally women fear and
expose to expose their breasts to male physicians. On the other hand, 50 percent agreed that
mammography screening is the best intervention for any breast complaints.
Analysis of the findings
From the results of the needs assessment, it was realized that most of the women often
rely on health care providers for knowledge and guidance on screen and health promoting. The
findings illustrate an insufficient compliance to positive attitudes towards breast screening
amongst the general health practitioners despite the widespread general awareness. In order to
increase capacity building amongst the women it is important to ensure that the existing barriers
are overcome through direct interventions in order to fully abide by the principles and protocols
of screening. (Miller & Baines 2011).
PART TWO
LESSON PLAN
General Content of the Lesson Plan
Teaching /Learning Context and Learners
The teaching /learning context is awareness on breast cancer and the importance of
breast self-exam and how to do it. The participants will need to understand philosophies of
healthcare and how they relate to breast cancer awareness and self-examination. (Yarber, Sayad
& Strong 2013). The learners are composed of a group of women, and the venue will be at a
building at a local church.
Study Setting
The presentation will be carried out at a local church setup with complete a structured
questionnaire which designed to measure the level of knowledge of the participants about breast
cancer and its risks. The lesson will last for one and half hours.

LESSON 1
Define Cancer, statistics and give risk factors
i. Breast cancer is the leading type of cancer affecting women. (Gurman, Rubin &
Roess 2012)
ii. Causes of cancer
- Being a woman
- Age
iii. Statistics related to cancer
iv. Other factors which increase the risk of getting cancer.
o Personal history
o High animal fat in diet
o Overweight
o Conceiving in old age
o Break in menstruation
o Smoking
v. Describe the anatomy of the breast.
vi. Give a rationale for each step of the process in the procedure.
vii. Group discussions
a. Breast Care
b. Mammography
LESSON 2
How to examine
- Normal breast changes
- BSE technique
- Physical examination

-
Group discussion
LESSON 3
Healthy Lifestyle factors
Group discussion
- Suggested discussion points
i. Exercise
ii. Diet
- Stress management
- Summary/Conclusion
Lesson goals
i. To promote awareness of breast cancer and leverage early detection of breast cancer
so as to reduce death related with the disease.
ii. Improve knowledge on breast cancer and change attitudes about screening amongst
the minority women.
iii. Encourage early detection initiatives (mammograms, CBE, pap tests and BSE).
iv. Lower mortality rates of cervical and breast cancer amongst low income women.
v. To make it known to the audience the importance of carrying out breast self-
examinations as one of the initiatives of detecting breast cancer early. (Tavafian,
Hasani, Aghamolaei, Zare & Gregory 2009).
vi. To give participants skills and information that they need in order to do a breast self-
exam.
Learning objectives
List of resources
i. Black board/Whiteboard
ii. Highlighter pens
iii. Markers

iv. Plain sheets
Learning Objectives
i. The participants will discuss their feelings about male physicians carrying out breast
screenings for breast cancer.
ii. Participants will be able to Estimate their personal chances of developing breast
cancer.
iii. Demonstrate required techniques for doing BSE.
iv. The participants should understand the causes and risk factors of breast cancer.
Identify the teaching/learning context for your lesson
This is psychomotor leaning because it involves giving knowledge for information. (Karayurt,
Özmen & Çetinkaya 2008)
Rationale for these objectives
i. Participants will be able to Estimate their personal chances of developing breast
cancer.
This is because it is estimated that 1 out of eight women will develop breast cancer.
(Woolf, S 2010)
ii. The participants will discuss their feelings about male physicians carrying out
breast screenings for breast cancer.
Most female patients shy away from exposing their breast anatomy to male
physicians. (Avci 2008). In some communities, it is a taboo and hence most women
will find it difficult to do. (Hether, Huang, Beck, Murphy & Valente 2008)
iii. The participants should understand the causes and risk factors of breast cancer.
Most women have misconceptions and fallacies on breast cancer. Many, from the
findings of the needs assessment, believe that mammography causes cancer. Others
believe that a breast cancer nipple can go away by itself. (Harford et al 2011).
iv. Demonstrate required techniques for doing BSE.
BSE is one of the most effective ways to detect early cancer development in order
to prevent mortality rates as a result of this disease. (Lauby-Secretan et al 2015)

 Of the four objectives, which do you consider more important, and why?
The most important objective is that participants should demonstrate the required skills for doing
BSE. This is because BSE is one of the simplest interventions for preventing breast cancer.
REFERENCES
Avci, I. A. (2008). Factors associated with breast self-examination practices and beliefs in
female workers at a Muslim community. European journal of oncology nursing, 12(2),
127-133.
Gurman, T. A., Rubin, S. E., & Roess, A. A. (2012). Effectiveness of mHealth behavior change
communication interventions in developing countries: a systematic review of the
literature. Journal of health communication, 17(sup1), 82-104.
Hether, H. J., Huang, G. C., Beck, V., Murphy, S. T., & Valente, T. W. (2008). Entertainment-
education in a media-saturated environment: Examining the impact of single and multiple
exposures to breast cancer storylines on two popular medical dramas. Journal of health
communication, 13(8), 808-823.
Harford, J. B., Otero, I. V., Anderson, B. O., Cazap, E., Gradishar, W. J., Gralow, J. R., ... &
Rieger, P. T. (2011). Problem solving for breast health care delivery in low and middle
resource countries (LMCs): consensus statement from the Breast Health Global Initiative.
The Breast, 20, S20-S29.
Karayurt, Ö., Özmen, D., & Çetinkaya, A. Ç. (2008). Awareness of breast cancer risk factors and
practice of breast self examination among high school students in Turkey. BMC Public
Health, 8(1), 359.

Lauby-Secretan, B., Scoccianti, C., Loomis, D., Benbrahim-Tallaa, L., Bouvard, V., Bianchini,
F., & Straif, K. (2015). Breast-cancer screening—viewpoint of the IARC Working
Group. New England journal of medicine, 372(24), 2353-2358.
Miller, A. B., & Baines, C. J. (2011). The role of clinical breast examination and breast self-
examination. Preventive medicine, 53(3), 118-120.
Tavafian, S. S., Hasani, L., Aghamolaei, T., Zare, S., & Gregory, D. (2009). Prediction of breast
self-examination in a sample of Iranian women: an application of the Health Belief
Model. BMC women's health, 9 (1), 37.
Woolf, S. H. (2010). The 2009 breast cancer screening recommendations of the US Preventive
Services Task Force. Jama, 303(2), 162-163.
Yarber, W. L., Sayad, B. W., & Strong, B. (2013). Human sexuality: Diversity in contemporary
America. McGraw-Hill.