Impact of Health Education on the Knowledge, Practice and Attitudes of Female Undergraduates of Adekunle Ajasin University, Akungba-Akoko towards Breast Cancer Preventive Practices

Abstract

Aims: To evaluate the effect of a structured health education programme on the knowledge, attitudes, and preventive practices regarding breast cancer among female undergraduates of Adekunle Ajasin University, Akungba-Akoko. Study Design: Quasi-experimental one-group pre-test and post-test design. Place and Duration of Study: Adekunle Ajasin University, Akungba-Akoko, Nigeria, between September and December 2020. Methodology: 60 female undergraduates drawn from six faculties were selected using proportionate stratified sampling. Data were collected using a semi-structured questionnaire incorporating Breast-CAM, Knowledge–Attitude–Practice (KAP) instruments, and the Breast Cancer Prevention Scale (BCPS). Descriptive statistics summarized variables. Bloom’s cut-off classified knowledge and attitudes, while mean scores assessed practices. Inferential analysis using SPSS version 25 included paired sample t-tests and McNemar tests to determine intervention effects at p = .05. Results: Respondents’ mean age was 23.28 ± 4.05 years. Knowledge scores improved significantly following the intervention (mean difference = −2.45, SD = 3.08), t(59) = −6.155, p = .001, 95% CI [−3.25, −1.65]. Preventive practice scores also showed significant improvement (mean difference = −3.00, SD = 3.91), t (59) = −5.950, p =  .001, 95% CI [−4.01, −1.99]. McNemar test indicated a significant change in preventive practices (p =.035). However, no statistically significant effect was observed on attitudes toward breast cancer prevention (χ² = 2.690, df = 2, p =.261). Conclusion: Health education significantly enhanced breast cancer knowledge and preventive practices but did not produce significant attitudinal change. Institutionalized, theory-driven health education within university settings can strengthen preventive behaviors, though strategies targeting attitudinal transformation require further refinement.