Impact of an educational intervention on the knowledge of testicular self-examination and attitudes toward it.

There is evidence that the percentage of adolescents that practice testicular self-examination is low.

To assess the short-term and long-term (6 months) impact in male adolescents of an educational intervention on the knowledge of testicular self-examination and attitude toward it.

We conducted a quasi-experimental pre-test post-test study in male adolescents. A questionnaire was validated to assess knowledge on testicular self-examination and attitudes towards it (awareness, intentions, and behaviour). The educational intervention was group-based and consisted in an instructional talk with the aid of diagrams and brochures. The questionnaire was administered before and after the intervention. A follow-up was scheduled 6 months later, and the talk was delivered again, with administration of the questionnaire before and after.

The study included 139 adolescents with a median age of 14 years. We found an improvement in knowledge (18.3% vs 78.9%; P = 0.02) and attitude (5.6% vs 53.5%; P = 0.02) after the initial intervention. At the 6-month follow-up (n=98), there was no change in knowledge (87.0% vs 93.0%; P = 0.671), but attitude improved after the second intervention (58.0% vs 78.0%; P = 0.009).

An educational intervention on testicular self-examination improved the proportion of adolescents with an adequate attitude (5.6% vs 53.5%) and adequate knowledge (18.3% vs 78.9%). The repetition of the intervention at 6 months increased the proportion of adolescents with an adequate attitude (53.5% vs 86.4%).

Anales de pediatria. 2022 Dec 03 [Epub ahead of print]

Juana Serret-Montoya, Sarait Nadja Rodríguez-Ibarra, Karla Denis Nava-Sánchez, Jessie Nallely Zurita-Cruz

Departamento de Adolescentes, Hospital Infantil de México Federico Gómez, Ciudad de México, Mexico., Universidad Juárez Autónoma de Tabasco, División Académica de Ciencias de la Salud, Tabasco, Mexico., Facultad de Medicina, Universidad Nacional Autónoma de México, Hospital Infantil de México Federico Gómez, Ciudad de México, Mexico. Electronic address: .