Promoting men’s awareness, self-examination, and help-seeking for testicular disorders: a systematic review of interventions

Abstract

Background: Testicular cancer (TC) is among the most commonly diagnosed cancers in men aged 15–40 years. The incidence of TC is on the rise. Benign testicular disorders, such as testicular torsion and epididymitis, can lead to testicular ischemia, sepsis, and infertility if left untreated. This updated systematic review aims to evaluate the effectiveness of studies promoting men’s knowledge and awareness of testicular disorders and/or self-examination, behaviours and/or intentions to examine their testes, and help-seeking behaviours and/or intentions for testicular disorder symptoms. Methods: Academic Search Complete, Medline, CINAHL, PsycINFO, ERIC, the Cochrane Library, the World Health Organisation International Clinical Trials Registry Platform, and Clinicaltrials.gov were searched for studies published between April 2018 and August 2023. Methodological quality was assessed and results were synthesised meta-narratively. Results: Five studies were included. The majority of the reviewed interventions were successful in increasing men’s awareness of TC and self-examination, including a PowerPoint presentation, an online educational brochure, video-assisted teaching, a motivational video, and a virtual reality game. Only one study addressed help-seeking for testicular symptoms and promoted men’s awareness of benign as well as malignant testicular diseases. Conclusions: This review highlights the importance of evaluating innovative educational interventions aimed at younger men, whilst raising their awareness of testicular disorders and increasing their help-seeking intentions for testicular disorder symptoms. Given the lack of consensus around scheduled testicular self-examination among younger men, clinicians are encouraged to instruct men to familiarise themselves with the look and feel of their own testes and to seek timely medical attention for abnormalities. Registration: The protocol of the previous version of this review was registered with the International Prospective Register of Systematic Reviews (PROSPERO) under the registration number CRD42018093671.

Promoting ‘testicular awareness’: Co‐design of an inclusive campaign using the World Café Methodology

“…Offline communication, a conventional way of delivering health information, can reach out to a wider population, particularly individuals who do not use social media, as well as older men and men who have low literacy and/or health literacy levels 45 . Traditionally, testicular cancer awareness campaigns have been delivered offline, with well‐documented evidence of effectiveness, albeit in the short‐term 20,22 . Engaging at‐risk younger groups with a testicular awareness campaign requires outside‐the‐box thinking.…”

“…Literature reviews conducted over the past decade have reported on studies that explored and aimed to enhance men's awareness of testicular cancer and self‐examination 19–22 . Conversely, very little is known about men's awareness of benign testicular diseases 11 .…”

“…Conversely, very little is known about men's awareness of benign testicular diseases 11 . We conducted a search in electronic databases and trial registries to update the abovementioned literature reviews 19–22 . Five experimental studies published between 2018 and 2023 were reviewed.…”

Enhancing Testicular Cancer Prevention Among University Students: A Health Belief Model and Social Support Intervention

“…Effective implementation of preventive measures relies on raising public awareness, understanding symptoms and risk factors, and regular self-examination of the testes [16]. Emphasizing the simplicity and cost-effectiveness of TSE, the American Cancer Society advocates for its inclusion as a fundamental aspect of routine cancer prevention.…”

Codesign and Launch of ‘On the Ball’: An Inclusive Community‐Based ‘Testicular Awareness’ Campaign

“…Findings from six systematic reviews conducted between 2015 and 2023 indicate that men's awareness of testicular diseases (particularly benign testicular diseases), intentions to seek help for symptoms of concern and behaviours in terms of performing testicular self-examination were all suboptimal [12][13][14][15][16][17]. The latest of these reviews found that several interventions were successful in increasing men's awareness of testicular cancer and testicular self-examination, including 'a PowerPoint presentation, an online educational brochure, video-assisted teaching, a motivational video, and a virtual reality game' (p. 2) [17]. However, only one study addressed help-seeking for testicular symptoms and aimed to promote men's awareness of both malignant and benign testicular diseases [18].…”