Impact of an educational intervention on the knowledge of cervical cancer prevention in nursing students and their families

A large number of factors influence the level of information that people may have regarding cervical cancer and the way to prevent it, since education is not only provided by health personnel but also by the family. When making important decisions regarding self-care, people must have effec-tive sex education, in which protection is of vital importance, since misinformation is one of the main factors that promotes cervical cancer. The objective of this study was to evaluate the impact of an educational inter-vention on the knowledge of cervical cancer prevention in a group of nursing students and their families under the Nola Pender model. The method used in the study was a quasi -ex-perimental, non-probabilistic sample; the knowledge about cervical cancer prevention and control was evaluated before and after the intervention, using the survey validated by Dr. Dina Rubio in 2009 (with her consent). The information was included in a Microsoft Excel spreadsheet: the items were placed in columns and the subjects were included in the rows. Specific frequencies and absolute frequencies were calculated, the Nola Pender model was used for the analysis. The units of analysis were selected manually or randomly and these selections do not depend on proba-bility but are generated based on the criteria of the researcher or the specific needs of the research. From a statistical point of view, information about what cervical cancer is, what it implies and how it behaves as a risk is engrained in the mental structure of the participants. To these implications of a tech-nical and methodological nature, others of a structural and conceptual nature are added to build an integrative analysis of the results obtained in the field work. In this case, they include opinions, appraisals, judgments, and evaluations about cervical cancer. This research was organized in the following stages: (1) Evaluation of prior knowledge on cervical cancer prevention and control. The starting point of the investiga-tion was the recognition that the participating women had a basic conceptual scaffolding, acquired through their own experience and self-training or by going to sources such as academia, social networks, specialized maga-zines, health institutions, medical staff and other specialists who help in the creation of an important background to consolidate an individual perspective. (2) Application of an educational intervention. In this stage, designed workshops were implemented and evaluated by the students with the advice of a teacher, and included the following topics: general concepts, signs and symptoms, asso-ciated risk factors, screening techniques, benefits, and exam precautions. The students contributed a theoretical, methodological and evaluative foundation to the design of each workshop, considering the expected training objectives, the characteristics included in its development, and a diversity of pedagog-ical actions that guarantee the efficiency of the transmitted message. (3) Reevaluation of the knowledge acquired. By applying a post-test, the knowledge acquired during the implementation of the workshops was recov-ered and resized. In this stage, the variability of the responses measured the transforming effect of the training, either by improving the knowledge acquired or by introducing new knowledge into the participant's cognitive model. The perception that participants have about self-care practices is linked to their beliefs, denoting a favorable level of aware-ness and clarity, which makes it possible for the application of cytology to recognize the frequency of use, regularity over time, and attention to the results. In conclusion, when evaluating the impact of educational interven-tion through the Nola Pender model, changes in knowledge were found. Results also indi-cate that this is an ideal model for employees in heterogeneous popu lation groups in ages, educational levels, professional training, and sexual habits, because it integrates personal experience, the environment and health prac-tices as three elements without which it is not possible to practice self-care and the culture of intervention.