Effects of Training Nursing Students on Female Genital Mutilation: A Quasi-Experimental Study With Pre- and Postintervention Assessments.

AIM: This study aimed to examine the association between an active learning-based educational intervention and changes in nursing students' knowledge, attitudes, and clinical management regarding female genital mutilation/cutting (FGM/C).

METHODS

A quasi-experimental pre-post study without a control group was conducted during the 2024-2025 academic year at a public university in southeastern Spain. Sixty-nine third-year nursing students completed a validated questionnaire that assessed their general knowledge, attitudes, and clinical management of FGM/C before and within 7 days after the intervention. The program included a theoretical session and a practical case-based learning session. Pre-post differences were analyzed using the Wilcoxon signed-rank test, with effect sizes calculated as r.

RESULTS

General knowledge significantly improved after the intervention (p < 0.001, r = 0.42). A small statistically significant change was observed in attitudes (p = 0.020, r = 0.28); however, this finding should be interpreted cautiously given the low internal consistency of the attitude subscale. No significant differences were found in clinical management knowledge (p = 0.300, r = 0.12).

CONCLUSION

The active learning-based training was associated primarily with short-term improvements in nursing students' general knowledge of FGM/C, while changes in attitudes were limited and no improvements were observed in clinical management knowledge. Although changes were observed in the attitude domain, these findings should be interpreted cautiously due to the low internal consistency of the corresponding subscale. Further controlled longitudinal studies using reliable outcome measures are needed to confirm these findings.