Testicular self-examination is important for the early diagnosis and treatment of testicular cancer; the nature of the examination itself influences individuals’ health beliefs about testicular self-examination.
Methods
This descriptive research study was carried out using 152 individuals working at Amasya University between August and November 2016. A personal information form and Champion’s Health Belief Model Scale were used for the data collection stage of this research. Descriptive statistical tests, Mann–Whitney U test, Kruskal–Wallis variance analysis and Cronbach’s alpha were used in the data analysis stage.
Results
Analysis of respondents’ sociodemographic data revealed that the study participants’ mean age was 38.88 ± 9.36, and that 112 participants (73.7%) were married and 76 participants (50.0%) had a graduate degree at the time the study was conducted. Of the research participants, 134 (88.2%) had no training on testicular self-examination; a statistically significant difference (p < 0.05) was found between participants’ consciousness of their capability to perform testicular self-examination on their own and the mean factor scores of the Champion’s Health Belief Model Scale’s ‘barriers of testicular self-examination’ and ‘self-effectiveness’ items.
Conclusion
The study found that health beliefs play a part in individuals’ positive health behaviours regarding testicular self-examination.
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