Comparison of Breast Health Teaching Methods for Adolescent Females: Results of a Quasi-Experimental Study

Purpose: A breast health educational program was administered in two public high school settings in north Alabama to subjects enrolled in health related courses. The purpose of this quasi-experimental study was to determine if teaching breast health with or without interactive learning would affect...

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Bibliographic Details
Published in:Journal of health education teaching 2013, Vol.4 (1), p.24
Main Authors: Evans, Retta R, Horton, Jacqueline A, Ahmad, Wajih A, Davies, Susan L, Snyder, Scott W, Macrina, David M
Format: Article
Language:English
Subjects:
Adolescents
Alabama
Cancer
Comparative Analysis
Control Groups
Experimental Groups
Females
Health Education
High School Students
Human Body
Instructional Effectiveness
Interaction
Knowledge Level
Measures (Individuals)
Pretests Posttests
Quasiexperimental Design
Statistical Analysis
Student Attitudes
Student Surveys
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Summary:Purpose: A breast health educational program was administered in two public high school settings in north Alabama to subjects enrolled in health related courses. The purpose of this quasi-experimental study was to determine if teaching breast health with or without interactive learning would affect the breast health knowledge and beliefs of adolescent females. Methods: The sample consisted of 310 adolescent females ages 15-18 years. Classes were randomly assigned to a treatment group with interactive learning or a comparison group with traditional didactic methods. One week before the program commenced, participants were administered a Breast Health Knowledge pre-test and a Breast Health Beliefs pre-survey to assess prior breast health knowledge and breast health beliefs. An immediate breast health post-test and survey were administered. Also, a 4-week follow-up test and survey were administered to assess breast health knowledge retained and beliefs changed after the educational program. Data analysis included descriptive statistics, independent t-test, and analysis of variance (ANOVA) for each research hypothesis. Results: The results revealed that students who used interactive learning had higher knowledge retention of breast health/cancer. Students who used interactive learning had higher perceptions of benefits of breast self-awareness. Students who used interactive learning had lower perceived barriers to breast self-examination. Conclusions: This research will add to the limited research in the area of breast health of adolescent females. It will provide educators strategies to effectively teach breast health to this population and will also help facilitate the development of health education programs aimed at health promotion among adolescents. Recommendations: The study emphasized an effective method to teach breast health during adolescence, a time when health care providers may not provide adequate information about breast health and when other health education topics often are addressed in school. The study investigated a difficult or uncomfortable subject for high school health educators and how it can be integrated into the health education curriculum by utilizing a hands-on approach (interactive learning).
ISSN:2333-4851
2333-4851