Student Dissertation 1st Batch

An explanatory model for Perception of Breast lump Among Women and Provider in a Breast Clinic, in Dhaka

                                           Ahmed Parvez Zabeen

Abstract

Women suffer from breast illnesses all over the world. Among the most common cancers in the world breast cancer is second in the list and incidence rate is 10.4 percent. More than 50 percent of the world’s cancer burden, in terms of incidences and deaths, occur in developing countries (World Cancer Report, 2003). Among the global burden of non communicable disease cancer occupies 5 percent of all non-communicable disease (World health Report, 1999). Around 1.20 lakh women have been suffering from breast cancer in our country among them 35, 000 thousands women die every year from breast caner (Staff correspondent, The Daily Star, Oct 25, 2005). There is a tendency among women of Bangladesh, keep the breast cancer a secret and allows it to spread where it is curable if detected at early stage.Each culture (and to some extent gender, social class, religion and even family) has its own language of distress (Helman, 2001). Cultural background has an important influence on many aspect of people’s life, including belief, religion, body image, emotion, pain, misfortune, attitude towards illness. Illnesses and health is also shaped by these influential factors and these factors vary from culture to culture, religion to religion and country to country. These factors influence people’s health and health seeking behavior. Anthropologist Klimen has suggested a useful way of looking at the process, by which illness is patterned, interpreted and treated, which is known as Explanatory Model (EM). EM of patients and doctors show the gap of an illness present in the existing context. Bridging the gap by appropriate public health policy and program reduces the prevailing catastrophic scenario of this particular illness. In this study I have tried to understand how women and health care providers perceived breast lump; whether there is any big gap exists. If so; this study can recommend public health policy and program which can intervene to reduce the gap. EM of breast lump of patient (client) and provider was done it shows a wide gap is prevailing in the country among the perception of women and health care provider where effective and successful public health intervention could bring the desired result. This would be reduction of thousand of death from breast cancer.

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