Knowledge and practice of testicular self-examination among secondary students at Ntare School in Mbarara District, South western Uganda

Abstract

Introduction: testicular self-examination (TSE) is a screening technique that involves inspection of the appearance and palpation of the testes to
detect any changes from the normal. Globally, the incidence of cancer has increased among which is testicular cancer (TC). Data on this topic among
male secondary school adolescents in Uganda is limited therefore this study sought to assess the knowledge and practice of testicular self-examination
among secondary students at Ntare School, Mbarara District in south western Uganda. The objective of the study is to assess the knowledge and
practice of testicular self-examination among secondary students at Ntare School in Mbarara district, south western Uganda. Methods: we conducted
a descriptive cross-sectional quantitative study among 165 students. Recruitment was made using simple random sampling technique. Respondents
were selected among advanced level (A’ level) male students studying at Ntare School in Mbarara district, south western Uganda. Structured selfadministered questionnaires were used for data collection. Results: of the male students, 41.8% reported to have knowledge about TSE and only
23.6% practiced TSE. Most students rated their knowledge of TSE to be below 5 (from 1-10). Of the 39 students who admitted performing TSE, only
16 did so as recommended (monthly). Conclusion: the knowledge and practice of TSE were low among adolescent secondary school boys in Ntare
School in Mbarara District, south western Uganda. This suggests that these students are unaware of the value of this personal health promotion tool
which is fundamental in early diagnosis of testicular cancer.