The Impact of Online Educational Talks on Young Equestrians' Knowledge of Breast Health and Breast Issues

Abstract

The breasts are a barrier to female participation in physical activity. Breast and bra issues are prevalent in female horse riders. Wearing a sports bra can minimize these issues, but many do not exclusively wear one for horse-riding. This study investigated the impact of live online breast educational talks on subsequent self-perception of knowledge and understanding. Two online surveys (GoogleForms™), one immediately pre-talk and one immediately post-talk, were created to assess perceived impact. The talks consisted of five sections: breast anatomy; types of sports bras; breast issues in relation to exercise; breast issues specifically related to horse riders and the importance of increasing awareness in the horse-riding community. Four educational talks were delivered to different groups of college and university students (n = 67) studying equine courses. Completed pre- and post-talk surveys (40 female, 2 male) were analyzed using a generalized linear model and post hoc Tukey tests. Comfort talking to others about breast health issues increased significantly after the talks, particularly for larger-breasted (≥ D cup) participants (p = 0.032). Knowledge of bra fit, breast support, and breast pain significantly increased (p < 0.01) post-talk, particularly in those who had not previously experienced breast pain whilst horse-riding (p ≤ 0.001). The intervention was successful at increasing participant understanding and knowledge of breast health issues, although different educational tools such as access to online resources or in-person talks may prove beneficial to equestrians to further increase comfort in broaching breast health issues with peers and support networks in future.

Keywords

• horse rider
• breast issues
• stigma
• education