A quasi experimental study to assess the effectiveness of structured teaching plan on cervical cancer among women in selected area, Ludhiana, Punjab

Abstract

Introduction: Cervical cancer is one of the most common cancer types among women in developing countries. Women’s behavior in the early detection of the disease is influenced by various factors. Material and methods: The study was carried out in selected area. Total 60 women in age group of 25-50 years, 30 for experimental group from village Mundia and 30 for control group from village Bhattia Bet study was done by using nonprobability convenience sampling technique. Results: Total 60 women are included in the study. The study assessed the demographic variables of women in the control and experimental groups. In terms of age, most women in the control group were 31-40 years, while majority were in the experimental group 25-30 years. Regarding education, most women in both groups had completed 10th grade. Occupation wise, most women were housewifes & small percentage in private or government jobs. Most women in both groups were married, with family incomes primarily between ?5000-?10,000. A few women had a family history of cancer. The majority of women in the control group received information from mass media, while in the experimental group, it was from health workers. Only one woman in the experimental group had a previous Pap smear test. The comparison of pre and post-test mean knowledge scores on cervical cancer showed that in the control group, the pre and post-test scores (9.53, 12.23) were statistically non-significant. However, in the experimental group, the pre and post-test scores (9.37, 31.47) showed a highly significant difference at p<0.05. Additionally, there was no significant difference between the pre-test mean knowledge scores of the control and experimental groups (9.53 vs 9.37), but the post-test scores (12.23 vs 31.47) were significantly different at p<0.05. Therefore, the structured teaching program was effective in improving women’s knowledge about cervical cancer, leading to the acceptance of the research hypothesis (H1). Conclusion: The study assessed the knowledge of women about cervical cancer before and after implementing a structured teaching plan, with participants divided into experimental and control groups.