Implementing a Male Breast Cancer Screening Protocol with a Medically Underserved Population

This Doctor of Nursing Practice (DNP) project describes a quality improvement (QI)
project to address the problem of male breast cancer (MBC) in a medically underserved
population in the southeastern United States. The purpose of this project was to implement a
practice protocol to increase breast cancer screening rates to potentially improve early
identification and management of men at risk for breast cancer in an outpatient safety net clinic.
The Six Sigma DMAIC methodology guided the development, implementation, and evaluation
of the project. A pre and post intervention survey was utilized to measure nurse practitioners’
knowledge, attitude, and practice (KAP) about MBC screening and a chart audit tool was utilized
to measure adherence to the protocol. The results revealed statistical significance. The nurse
practitioners demonstrated improved KAP of male breast cancer screening recommendations
based on responses to the pre and post questionnaires. The implementation of the male breast
cancer screening protocol led to a significant increase in the nurse practitioner’s MBC screening
rates. The findings reinforce continued education of nurse practitioners for male breast cancer
prevention. Public education is also pertinent for early detection and prevention of male breast
cancer worldwide.