Short-Term Efficacy of an Educational Program to Enhance Knowledge and Attitude for Preventing Cervical Cancer among Japanese Male High School Students

抄録

Background: Human Papillomavirus (HPV), a cause of cervical cancer, is transmitted usually through sexual contact. Males, as well as females, need to gain knowledge about HPV and cervical cancer. However, Japanese schools do not provide cancer prevention education in a systematic and systemic manner.

Objective: This study aimed to evaluate the short-term efficacy of an educational program to enhance the knowledge and attitude for preventing cervical cancer among male high school students.

Methods: The participants were 83 male first grade students (mean age = 15.7) who participated in the educational program at a prefectural high school in Tohoku region’s Prefecture “A” in Japan. The program consisted of five standard 50-minute learning sessions conducted in a lecture-and-workshop format as part of the school’s health courses.

A self-administered questionnaire survey was conducted before and immediately after the program to examine its process and impact, and three months after the program to evaluate its short-term efficacy. The process evaluation investigated work sheet utilization, activity status, and satisfaction with educational materials and the program. The impact evaluation examined the knowledge and attitude for preventing cervical cancer.

Results: The rate of work sheet utilization was high in the program. The participants were highly satisfied with the educational materials and the program. Additionally, the scores of knowledge and attitude for preventing cervical cancer: “importance and effect of screening”, and “subjective norms” after the program were higher and statistically significant than those before the program.

Conclusion: This educational program demonstrated a short-term efficacy of enhancing knowledge and attitudes regarding the prevention of cervical cancer among male high school students in Japan.