The effect of education given to university students on health beliefs and testicular self-examination

Abstract

This research aims to evaluate the effect of group-oriented peer education given to university students with testicular cancer on health beliefs and self-examination. Is there a statistical difference in the average of health belief points of university students before education compared to after education? Testicular cancer is one of the most common cancers in young men aged 0–34 years, and is the third most common cancer in men worldwide. It ranks first among the most common types of cancer in men of the same age in Turkey. This research is a semi-experimental quantitative study with a single group pre-test and post-test design. The students of the health care services and therapy rehabilitation department of a Turkish state university participated in the study. The number of students to be included in the study was determined as n = 78 when the calculation was made according to the sample selection formula for the group whose universe was known. Data were obtained from the personal information form, the testicular cancer and testicular self-examination-related health beliefs scale, and the self-examination form. This study followed the ethical directions of the Helsinki Declaration. Ethics committee approval and institutional permission were obtained before the study was conducted. The students were informed about the purpose of the research, and their consent was obtained to participate in the research. Mann–Whitney U, Wilcoxon, and chi-square analyses were performed for data analysis. A significant difference was found between pre-test and post-test scores of severity and care, benefit and health motivation, barriers, and self-efficacy (p < 0.05). In the study, it was determined that group-oriented peer education was effective in promoting testicular self-examination. Experimental studies with larger study groups are recommended to increase testicular self-examination. Practice educational initiatives should be planned to encourage nurses to perform testicular self-exam in the best environment and education model where they can reach men in the risk group between the ages of 15–25 organization of planned trainings for men. This study is the small sample size. A larger and more representative sample of students from the social and health departments of different faculties would have provided more reliable results.