The effect of breast cancer awareness interventions on young women aged 18–50 years: a systematic review

Plunkett, Caitríona ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0001-6071-3764, Pilkington, Melissa ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0002-3091-751X and Keenan, Joseph ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0002-8855-1776 (2024) The effect of breast cancer awareness interventions on young women aged 18–50 years: a systematic review. Journal of Health Psychology. ISSN 1359-1053

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Abstract

A scarcity of research has examined the effect of breast cancer awareness (BCA) interventions among young women (18–50 years). This overlooks important differences that may affect BCA levels such as education preferences within this younger cohort. Younger women are more likely than older women to present with aggressive subtypes of breast cancer if they develop the disease, and at a more advanced stage translating into poorer survival. It is therefore worthy to investigate which interventions have a significantly positive effect on BCA within this cohort. Five studies were deemed eligible for review. Despite differing intervention methods, theoretical applications and awareness targets, positive outcomes were reported across all designs. However, the evidence is weak in investigating the effectiveness of BCA interventions on this cohort and is considered as inconclusive with such a small number of available studies to review, highlighting a need for further research in this area.