Increased Testicular Cancer Education and Self-Examinations among Males at Spectrum Healthcare’s Mingus Mountain Clinic

Abstract

Objective: The purpose of this DNP project was to assess current testicular cancer and testicular self-examination knowledge, provide education through informational handouts and evaluate learning to increase awareness of risk factors and signs/symptoms associated with testicular cancer (TC). Methods: A pre-test/post-test survey design was used. Males (n=10) were recruited from Spectrum Healthcare’s Mingus Mountain Clinic to participate in a 14 item pre-test and 19 item post-test survey on TC and TSE topics. Printed informational handouts (Appendix A) were obtained and consent granted from Men's Health (Appendix F) to provide participants a general overview of testicular cancer including risk factors, signs/symptoms and proper techniques to perform testicular self-examinations. Results: General TC knowledge increased among the ten participants who completed the pre-and post-test surveys. The mean score of correctly identified signs/symptoms of TC increased from 2.8 to 3.3, or a 15.1% increase. The mean score of correctly identified risk factors also increased from 2.6 to 3.5 or a 25.7% increase. After reviewing the informational handout, participants reported they were more likely to perform TSE with an average score of 8.1 on the 10 point Likert scale. Participants also felt they had a better understanding of TC risk factors with a mean score of 8.1 on the 10 point Likert scale. After reviewing the educational handout, participants strongly agreed that the information should be given during routine office visits with an average score of 9 out 10 on the Likert scale. Conclusion: The findings from this DNP project showed that there was a general knowledge deficit among the male participants regarding testicular cancer and testicular self-examinations. In addition, the results of this DNP project suggests that providing routine and easy to understand education will increase the general knowledge of TC and TSE. Further studies are needed to understand the different learning styles and educational materials required to reach different age groups.