Evidence map›Paper›PMID 41814231›Full record

ArticleBMC public health2026

The effect of school-based educational session on knowledge, attitudes, and beliefs of cervical cancer among adolescents in mixed day high schools in Embu County: a quasi-experimental study.

Lucy W Kivuti-Bitok, Caroline Wanja Mugo, Dorothy Mituki, Christine Marete, Irene Ngune, Jessica Wells

Abstract read
In one paragraph

Article in BMC public health, 2026. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. Not yet cited in PubMed.

0numbers the graph read from it
0cells of the map it votes in
0citing papers in PubMed
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1 · What the graph read from it

What it found

Each row is one number read from the abstract, on the scale the paper reported it, with its interval. Left of the dashed line favours the treatment, right favours the comparator. Under each row is the sentence it came from. New to these charts? A ten-minute tutorial.

The abstract states no effect estimate the extractor could read, or names no intervention and outcome on the map, so this paper lights no cell and moves no belief. It is still indexed, cited and linked below.

2 · The registry

The trial behind it

Trials whose registry record cites this paper, or whose number appears in the abstract. A trial that started after this paper was published is citing it as background, not reporting it.

Neither the registry nor the abstract names a trial number. If this is a trial report, that itself is worth knowing.

3 · Its place in the literature

Who cites it

0 citing papers in PubMed.

No citing paper in PubMed yet.

4 · The record

Corrections and comments

PubMed lists nothing against this paper. Absence here is not a guarantee, only a check that was made.

5 · Who and what money

Authors and funding

6 authors.

Lucy W Kivuti-BitokDepartment of Nursing Sciences, University of Nairobi, Nairobi County, Kenya. lukibitok@uonbi.ac.ke.ORCID 0000-0002-0958-1580
Caroline Wanja MugoSoroptimist International Embu Club, Embu, Kenya.ORCID 0000-0001-6313-8072
Dorothy MitukiSoroptimist International Embu Club, Embu, Kenya.ORCID 0000-0001-8654-8760
Christine MareteSoroptimist International Embu Club, Embu, Kenya.ORCID 0000-0002-3295-8796
Irene NguneSchool of Nursing and Midwifery, Edith Cowan University, Perth, Western Australia, Australia.ORCID 0000-0003-4951-2712
Jessica WellsNell Hodson Woodruff School of Nursing, Emory University, 1520 Clifton Road NE, Atlanta, GA, 30322, USA.ORCID 0000-0003-1995-0383

Funding

No grant is acknowledged in the PubMed record.

6 · The paper itself

Abstract

backgroundSchool-based interventions have proven effective in enhancing knowledge and altering attitudes toward cervical cancer among adolescents. This study aimed to evaluate the effect of a school-based educational intervention on the attitudes, beliefs, and knowledge of cervical cancer among adolescents in mixed-day high schools in Embu County.

methodsThis study used a single-group, repeated cross-sectional design to assess the effect of a structured health education session on cervical cancer among adolescent boys and girls in mixed-gender secondary schools. A self-administered anonymous questionnaire was administered before and immediately after the post-intervention. The education session lasted 30-45 min, and the study population included teenage boys and girls in selected mixed-day secondary schools in Embu County. Schools were conveniently sampled, and students in Form One and Form Two were purposively selected. Data were analyzed using R version 4.2.2 Descriptive statistics included means, standard deviations, counts, and percentages. Welch's two-sample t-test to compare pre and post- intervention groups scores. Effect sizes were estimated using Cohen's d with 95% confidence intervals. Statistical significance was set at α = 0.05.

resultsOur findings revealed that the respondents had low knowledge of cervical cancer and the HPV vaccine before the health education session. The overall knowledge score increased from a pretest mean of 105.23 to a posttest mean 131.8, respectively, which was a statistically significant change (t (567.66) = 6.89, p < 0.001) with a 95% confidence interval for the mean difference of 19.02 to 34.18. The magnitude of the difference corresponded to a moderate effect size (Cohen's d = 0.58, 95% CI: 0.41-0.74). Many adolescents indicated a willingness to engage in discussions about cervical cancer, with several expressing intent to talk with friends, with 40.99% strongly agreeing to talk to parents about the topic. Approximately 73% of the students expressed a desire to share information with their parents and friends, whereas 70.22% indicated that they would ask their guardians to take them for the HPV vaccine. The majority (70%) of the students agreed that the lecture delivery method was good. However, 48% of the students felt that the lecture was complicated.

conclusionsThe single session educational intervention on cervical cancer was associated with improved knowledge of cervical cancer among adolescents. Majority of the respondents expressed willingness to discuss the topic with peers and parents, suggesting potential for information dissemination within their communities.

Indexed as

Health EducationHealth Knowledge, Attitudes, PracticeSchool Health ServicesUterine Cervical NeoplasmsAdolescentCross-Sectional StudiesFemaleHumansMalePapillomavirus VaccinesSchoolsStudentsSurveys and QuestionnairesPapillomavirus VaccinesAdolescentsCervical cancerHealth education

Identifiers

PMID41814231
PMCPMC13088820

What Socratic holds

Textmetadata
LicenceCC BY-NC-ND
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Registered trials

None linked

Read under generation 80e0d062 · epoch 390. Bibliography from PubMed, PubMed Central and OpenAlex; grants from NIH RePORTER; trial links from ClinicalTrials.gov; estimates, votes and beliefs from the Socratic graph.