Evaluation of the effects of cancer education on knowledge, attitude, and behavior of university undergraduate students

Reviews indicate that multiple predisposing factors such as knowledge, attitudes, and values significantly influence health-related practices and lifestyle. Some predispositions, such as basic knowledge about and attitudes toward cancer, are conducive to change through education. This study has investigated the effects of cancer education on the knowledge, attitude, and behavior scores of students concerning cancer prevention. A quasiexperimental design using pretests and posttests was the design of choice. The undergraduate students served as the experimental group and enrolled in an elective course entitled "The Nature of Cancer." Another group of students enrolled in the elective course "Sex Education" and served as a control group for one semester. A battery of instruments consisting of cancer prevention attitudes, knowledge, and behavior was used to measure the dependent variables. The findings, using a split-plot model for repeated measure data, revealed significant improvements in attitude, knowledge, and behavior scores for the experimental group over the control group.