title: Inadequate knowledge levels of Turkish male university students about testicular self-examination.
abstract: BACKGROUND
  Testicular cancer occurs in men aged between 15-35, accounting for 1% of all male cancers. The most common symptom is a painless swelling in the early period, so it is important for individuals to be conscious about and perform testicular self-examination. The aim of this study was to determine the knowledge and performance of testicular self-examination (TSE) in male university students.
  
  
  METHODS
  The target population of the study consisted of 275 male university students aged between 20-25. Data were collected using a 27 item-questionnaire developed by the investigators consisting of 3 sections: 1) socio-demographic characteristics; 2) risk factors for testicular cancer; 3) practices related to TSE. The data obtained were analyzed using frequency distribution and percentages.
  
  
  RESULTS
  88% of the students (n=242) reported having no knowledge of TSE, whereas 36% (n=12) of the remaining 12% (n=33) reported having performed TSE. With regard to the reasons for non-performance, 88% (n=242) of the participants said they did not know about TSE, 6% (n=17) said they did not attach importance to TSE and 4% (n=11) were afraid.
  
  
  CONCLUSIONS
  The results of our study demonstrated that adolescent males should be educated by nurses about testicular tumors and their symptoms as well as TSE performance.
authors.affiliation: Department of Surgical Nursing, Florence Nightingale School of Nursing, Istanbul University, Istanbul, Turkey. ayfer@istanbul.edu.tr
authors.forename: Ayfer
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Özbaş
authors.forename: İkbal
authors.initials: İ
authors.lastname: Çavdar
authors.forename: Ümmü Yildiz
authors.initials: ÜY
authors.lastname: Findik
authors.forename: Nuray
authors.initials: N
authors.lastname: Akyüz
mesh_terms: D000328:Adult; D006266:Health Education / Q000379:methods; D007722:Health Knowledge, Attitudes, Practice; D006801:Humans; D008297:Male; D012307:Risk Factors; D016353:Self-Examination; D013334:Students; D011795:Surveys and Questionnaires; D013736:Testicular Neoplasms / Q000175:diagnosis* / Q000517:prevention & control*; D013737:Testis / Q000473:pathology; D014421:Turkey; D014495:Universities; D055815:Young Adult