Impact of an educational intervention on deaf and hard hearing females' knowledge and health beliefs regarding cervical cancer in Tabuk, Saudi Arabia: A theory-based study.

Deaf people experience barriers to communication that prevent access to health care and information that puts them at increased risk for lack of knowledge about prevention and early detection approaches to cancers. With decreased screening, they may be at a higher risk of discovering cervical cancer (CC) at a late stage. This study aimed to evaluate the impact of an educational intervention on deaf and hard hearing females' knowledge and health belief regarding cervical cancer in Tabuk, Saudi Arabia. A quasi-experimental study was performed from the beginning of April till the end of October 2021 using a convenience sample of 33 deaf and hard hearing married females students from Al-Amal center for deaf and hard hearing females and Tabuk University. The data were collected using an interview schedule composed of three parts translated to American Sign Language: background variables (basic data), cervical cancer knowledge quiz, and health belief model scale for CC and Pap smear test. About 75.8% of the participants were older than 20 years. The intervention-based HBM showed significant improvement in the overall knowledge score after the intervention compared to pre-intervention (FET = 16.345 P = 0.000). Moreover, significant enhancements (P <0.05) in all HBM construct scores after the HBM intervention compared to the pre-intervention. HBM-based educational interventions can be useful educational modalities for deaf and hard hearing populations. This intervention effectively enhanced the deaf and hard hearing females' overall knowledge and health beliefs scores.

Empowering deaf and hard hearing females toward premarital counseling and genetic screening: An educational intervention based on empowerment model.

Hearing loss affects many people worldwide, and it hinders speech, language, and social development. Consanguineous marriage is the most prevalent social custom that leads to an increased prevalence of congenital anomalies. Premarital Counseling and Genetic Screening (PMSGC) educational program is urgently needed to empower deaf and hard hearing girls. This study aimed to investigate the effect of educational intervention based on the empowerment model on deaf and hard hearing females' self-efficacy, knowledge, and attitude toward PMSGC. A Quasi-experimental research design was conducted on 64 deaf and hard hearing female students. The data collection instrument comprised four parts: basic data and personal/family history, PMSGC quiz, Likert attitude scale, and general self-efficacy scale. Data were collected from September to December 2020. The empowerment educational intervention was conducted in four sequential phases; needs assessment, planning, implementation, and evaluation. The intervention addressed the students' knowledge, attitudes and self-efficacy. The results showed that 76.6% of the study participants had consanguineous marriage between their parents, 64.1% had a history of hereditary deafness in first-degree relatives. There were statistically significant differences between the total knowledge, attitude, and self-efficacy before and after intervention (p <0.001). In detail, 76.6% of the participants had good knowledge after the intervention compared to only 12.5% before it. Besides, 81.3% of the study participants had a positive attitude toward PMSGC before the intervention compared to 95.3% after it. Self-efficacy was low (25.0%) or moderate (75%) before the intervention compared to moderate (45.3%) or high (42.2%) after the intervention. Educational intervention based on the empowerment model significantly increased the deaf and hard hearing population's self-efficacy, knowledge, and attitude toward PMSGC. The use of the empowerment model in health education should be encouraged and taught to the medical and paramedical students.