Knowledge of testicular cancer among university students.

Abstract

Testicular cancer represents the most common neoplasm among men aged 14 and 44. Various factors are those that contribute to the development of this pathology. Testicular self-examination and knowledge of the disease are considered a particularly effective health education intervention. Objective: The objective of this study was to identify knowledge about some aspects in relation to testicular cancer such as the information received, risk factors, symptomatology and self-examination in male students from two university entities. Methodology: Quantitative non-experimental, cross-sectional descriptive study, which was conducted at 100 university students between 20-25 years of age, 50 students of the Nursing Degree of the Faculty of Higher Studies Iztacala (FESI-UNAM) and 50 students of the Engineering degree of Control and Automation (ICA) of the National Polytechnic Institute. All of them studying between the seventh and eighth semester of the respective careers, selected in a non-probabilistic way for convenience. A 12-item questionnaire was applied which explored the student’s knowledge about testicular cancer. Results: 74% of nursing students and 20% of engineering have received information about testicular cancer. 28% of nursing students and 8% of engineering correctly identify the symptoms. Discussion: The results observed in this study present a similar pattern to that reported by different authors in relation to the subject, so it can be mentioned that the general dissemination of this neoplasm is limited. Conclusion: Nursing students have more knowledge about the pathology, however, they do not perform the self-exploration technique correctly. Most of ICA students know very little about this health problem and consequently, they do not know the correct self-exploration technique.

KEYWORDS:  Knowledge; university students; testicular cancer.