The Effectiveness of Alternative Cancer Education Programs in Promoting Knowledge, Attitudes, and Self-examination Behavior. in a Population of College-aged Men

Statement of the problem: Although many studies have been reported in the literature on the influence of cancer education programs on knowledge, attitudes, and self-examination practice in female populations (breast cancer and breast self-examination), few published reports address such issues related to males. The purpose of this study was t) determine whether changes in knowledge, in selected attitudes, and in self-examination behavior occurred among college-aged men after exposure to alternative cancer education programs. MethOo gy: One hundred twenty-eight college-aged men from two large health education classes from a mid-western university were randomly assigned to two treatment groups. The first, or control group, received an educational program consisting of exposure to pamphlets addressing testicular cancer and testicular self-examination (TSE). The second, or experimental group, received exposure to an educational program facilitated by an individual who had a history of testicular cancer. At the conclusion of each treatment, subjects responded to a knowledge and an attitudes inventory which assessed knowledge and attitudes toward cancer and toward self-examination procedures. At three months, a questionnaire was sent to each participant requesting information about self-examination behavior subsequent to participation in the programs. Analysis of data was accomplished through the use of ANOVA and Chi