Comparing methods of reporting breast self‐examination compliance

Women volunteers (N = 32) learning breast self‐examination (BSE) in one of several small group workshops were asked to practice BSE on a monthly basis and reported BSE practice for the following 6 months. Each workshop was randomly assigned to one of three methods of reporting subsequent instances of BSE: (a) retrospective reporting in which they were called by the experimenter and asked how many times they performed BSE; (b) monthly written reports, in which they mailed in a card after each month's practice of BSE; and (c) an oil‐and‐tissue method in which, in addition to the card, they mailed in a tissue that they had used to blot oil used as a lubricant in BSE.

Rates of self‐reported BSE for the three methods were compared, showing no differences between the oil‐and‐tissue method and the monthly written report method, with rates for both methods significantly lower than for the retrospective report method. It was concluded that the monthly report method provides the same information as the oil‐and‐tissue method, without its awkwardness and expense, and thus seems the preferred method of self‐report in BSE studies.