Investigating Saudi Nursing Students’ Health Beliefs about Testicular Cancer and Testicular Self-Examination: A Cross-Sectional Study Using the Health Belief Model

INTRODUCTION: Testicular cancer (TC) is a serious health issue, which requires early detection through testicular self-examination (TSE). OBJECTIVES: To investigate Saudi nursing students’ health beliefs about TC and TSE using the Health Belief Model (HBM) scale and assess the validity and reliability of the HBM scale. METHODS: This cross-sectional study recruited a convenience sample of 374 nursing students from six nursing colleges in different cities in Saudi Arabia. Data were collected through self-report questionnaires that included demographic and academic information, as well as a valid and reliable HBM scale for TC and TSE. RESULTS: Most participants were single (88.8 %), in their third year of nursing education (43.9 %), had excellent or very good health (83.2%), had no family history of TC (88.9%), and had no medical problems with their testicles (92.8%). The participants had low susceptibility to TC and moderate beliefs about the seriousness of TC. Furthermore, participants reported moderate levels of perceived benefits and health motivation for preventing TC and practicing TSE, but high levels of perceived barriers and low levels of self-efficacy for practicing TSE. The internal reliability (Cronbach’s alpha) of susceptibility, benefits and health motivation, seriousness, barriers, self-efficacy, and health motivation and promotion sub-scales was 0.91, 0.89, 0.88, 0.84, 0.67, and 0.65, respectively. Significant relationship between students’ performing TSE and their health beliefs about Susceptibility (t=1.93, p=0.04) and Seriousness of having TC (t=2.88, p=0.03), and self-efficacy (t=3.91, p<0.001) and barriers (t=−2.51, p=0.04) to practice TSE. CONCLUSION: The study concluded that Saudi nursing students had moderate levels of health beliefs about TC and TSE, with high perceived barriers and low levels of self-efficacy for practicing TSE.