Discussion
HBM
Despite high cure rates, TC continues to pose a serious threat, especially to young adult men. Testicular self-exam is the primary health-protective behaviour in the early diagnosis and treatment of TC. In this study, the majority of the participants did not know about TC and did not perform TSE regularly prior to the intervention. In the existing studies, the lack of knowledge of TC in university students ranged between 65.6% and 98% [In the current study, participants in the intervention group, which received a lecture using the flipped classroom, obtained higher scores compared with the control group, which received a traditional lecture. The existing studies of receiving a lecture about TC and TSE and its effects on performing TSE reported that the frequency of TSE performance increased after the lecture [This study analysed the effects of courses based on the FCM compared with the conventional methods of knowledge and health beliefs on TC and TSE. The HBM is an important guide for explaining and measuring the factors that improve, motivate or prevent individual health. Mean posttest scores obtained by the participants in the intervention group from the severity and barriers subscales of the CHBMS were significantly lower than those of the control group. Although statistically insignificant, the mean scores obtained by the intervention group from the benefits and the self-efficacy subscales were higher than those by the control group. A study by Pour and Çam, which used PowerPoint presentation, video and question-and-answer techniques to give a lecture on TC and TSE, found that the posttest scores obtained by the intervention group from the subscales of susceptibility and barriers decreased, whereas the scores from the subscale of benefits increased [This study has some limitations. One of them is that the results can only be generalized to this group because it was conducted in a single centre. Another limitation is that the sample group was limited to male students only since the effects of the flipped classroom method on the knowledge and health beliefs of TC and TSE, as well as on TSE behaviour, were examined in this study. The last limitation is the inclusion of more than 61% of the sample size due to the concern that there would be too many dropouts from the study because of the Covid-19 pandemic, and all 68 students who met the inclusion criteria volunteered to participate in the study.