Effects of a nurse–led educational programme on knowledge of Prostate cancer in selected Hospitals in Cross River State, Nigeria

Abstract

Prostate cancer (PC) is a leading cause of cancer death among men in Nigeria. Available evidence suggests poor knowledge of PC as responsible for escalating mortality rate in Cross River State, yet there exists no comprehensive health promotion package on knowledge of PC. The aim of this study was to evaluate the effectiveness of a nurse-led educational programme on knowledge of PC in selected hospitals in Cross River State, Nigeria. Quasi experimental non-equivalent control group pretest-posttest study was conducted among men attending Out Patient Departments (OPD) in four randomly selected General hospitals in three senatorial districts: North, Central and South of Cross River State. A sample of 420 men: of which 210 were randomly assigned to Intervention Group (IG) and Control Group (CG) respectively. An educational intervention package of four modules on knowledge of PC was administered for four weeks only in IG. A validated structured questionnaire was used to assess knowledge of PC at pretest (PT1), immediate post intervention (PT2), at three months (PT3) and six months post intervention (PT4). Data were analyzed using chi-square and t-test. Mean age in IG (51.4 ± 8.9) and CG (54.1 ± 8.2) was comparable. At PT1, there was a significant difference in knowledge scores in IG and CG (10.1 ±.0); (9.1 ± 4.8); (t = -2.8). At PT2 knowledge increased only in IG (19.4 ± 2.0); CG (9.8 ± 3.6) (t = 30.0, p < 0.05). At PT3, knowledge of PC reduced in IG (16.6 ± 2.7), while CG increased (11.3 ± 2.1) (t = -22.4, p < 0.05). At PT4, knowledge increased slightly in IG (17 ±2.7) and CG decreased (10.7 ± 2.3) (t = -26.8, p < 0.05). conclusively, the nurse-led educational programme improved the level of knowledge of PC over a short period. Therefore, there is need to integrate health educational programme about PC in hospitals to ensure sustenance of knowledge.