Web-based health education utilizing “Sahabat Sehat Serviks” to prevent cervical cancer among adolescent girls

Abstract

Cervical cancer is the second leading cause of death among women in Indonesia, caused by the Human Papillomavirus (HPV). The progression of this disease takes a long time, and one of the at-risk groups is adolescent girls who engage in deviant sexual behavior, improper reproductive organ care, and unhealthy lifestyles. Adolescents need to have good knowledge, attitudes, and skills from an early age because these can influence their future behavior, especially in early cervical cancer prevention. Therefore, it is necessary to provide contemporary cervical cancer education through the website "Sahabat Sehat Serviks" to improve adolescents' knowledge, followed by changes in attitudes and skills. This study aims to determine the effect of health education through the website on increasing the knowledge, attitudes, and skills of adolescent girls in the early prevention of cervical cancer. The research design is a quasi-experiment with a quantitative approach, using a pre-post with a control group design. The study population consisted of 179 adolescent girls aged 11–13 years. The sample included 36 respondents selected by proportional stratified random sampling. The results showed significant differences in knowledge, attitudes, and skills among respondents who received cervical cancer health education through the "Sahabat Sehat Serviks" e-health website, with p-values of 0.000 for knowledge, 0.014 for attitudes, and 0.001 for skills. The "Sahabat Sehat Serviks" website is effective as a medium for cervical cancer health education for adolescent girls in improving knowledge, attitudes, and skills for early cervical cancer prevention.