PREDICTING THE PRACTICE AND TEACHING OF BREAST SELF-EXAMINATION OF SENIOR NURSING STUDENTS (HEALTH PRACTICES).
Contributors: Widener University School Of Nursing.
Published: 1995
Number of pages: 249
Subjects: Health Sciences, Nursing.; Education, Health.
Description: This descriptive-correlational study was designed to: determine if baccalaureate student nurses practice and teach breast self-examination (BSE); to predict their intent to practice and teach BSE; and to describe the relative contribution of the predictor variables of attitudes, subjective norm, student report of BSE content, placement, and perception of emphasis in the nursing curriculum on the outcome variables of actual BSE practice; actual BSE teaching; intent to practice; and intent to teach. The Ajzen-Fishbein Theory of Reasoned Action provided the theoretical foundation for this study.

Nonprobability convenience sampling was used to collect data from 289 second semester senior nursing students from seven generic NLN approved baccalaureate nursing programs in southeast Pennsylvania. Data were collected by the Breast Self-Examination Behavior Index (BSEBI).

The results indicate that although students nurses practice BSE infrequently and do not teach BSE, they intend to practice and teach BSE. Support for the tenets of the Theory of Reasoned Action were found using hierarchical multiple regression analyses.

A statistically significant relationship was demonstrated between intention and BSE practice. Intention is a significant predictor of BSE behavior (Beta weight.68). Intention explained 44% of the variance in BSE practice. Intention was not found to have a significant relationship with BSE teaching.

Attitudes and subjective norms were found to have statistically significant relationships with intent to practice. However, the relationship between intent to practice and indirect attitude was inverse. Intent to practice was best predicted by attitudes (Beta weight.29). The predictor variables together explained 23% of the variance in intent to practice.

Statically significant relationships were demonstrated between intent to teach and direct attitudes and direct and indirect subjective norms. Intent to teach was best predicted by indirect subjective norms (Beta weight.28). The predictor variables explained 18% of the variance in intent to teach.

The relationships between content, placement, and emphasis in the curriculum were not statistically significant with the outcome variables. However, emphasis and content explained 8% of the variance in intent to teach.

Several reasons for the findings of this study were offered. Conclusions, implications for nursing education, and recommendations for future research were generated.
Notes: Source: Dissertation Abstracts International, Volume: 57-02, Section: B, page: 0990.

Thesis (D.N.SC.)--WIDENER UNIVERSITY SCHOOL OF NURSING, 1995.

School code: 0969.