Objective: In this study, we aimed to determine the level of knowledge of young men about sexually transmitted diseases (STD) as they are one of the biggest population under risk, and the possib-le variances in reference to sociodemographic differences.
Materials and methods: The study comprised 238 men aged between 20 and 33 years. A personal identification form and 36-item Knowledge Test for Sexually Transmitted Diseases adepted from the 40-item STI/HIV Pre-test were used for the evaluation.
Results: 69.32% of the participants reported to have knowled-ge about STD. The most frequently (65.54%) used source of infor-mation was friends. 59.66% of the participants stated that they re-ceived knowledge about sex during their formal education at scho-ol. 63.45% of the participants experienced sexual intercourse within the last year. Only 35.10% of these had only one sexual partner, whi-le 50.43% reported condom use during sexual intercourse. Out of 36 points from the STDs test, the main scores for correct, incorrect and “don’t know” answers were 19.90 (0-34)±7.58 , 6.94 (0-23)±4.35 and 9.17 (0-36)±8.41 respectively.
Conclusion: Our data showed that, the participants had know-ledge about STD to a certain degree. We suggest that sexual health education programs must be expanded in order to increase the ac-cessability of reliable sources and improve the quality of the know-ledge about STD.
Key Words: Sexually transmitted diseases, young men, level of knowledge
Abstract
Objective: In this study, we aimed to determine the level of knowledge of young men about sexually transmitted diseases (STD) as they are one of the biggest population under risk, and the possib-le variances in reference to sociodemographic differences.
Materials and methods: The study comprised 238 men aged between 20 and 33 years. A personal identification form and 36-item Knowledge Test for Sexually Transmitted Diseases adepted from the 40-item STI/HIV Pre-test were used for the evaluation.
Results: 69.32% of the participants reported to have knowled-ge about STD. The most frequently (65.54%) used source of infor-mation was friends. 59.66% of the participants stated that they re-ceived knowledge about sex during their formal education at scho-ol. 63.45% of the participants experienced sexual intercourse within the last year. Only 35.10% of these had only one sexual partner, whi-le 50.43% reported condom use during sexual intercourse. Out of 36 points from the STDs test, the main scores for correct, incorrect and “don’t know” answers were 19.90 (0-34)±7.58 , 6.94 (0-23)±4.35 and 9.17 (0-36)±8.41 respectively.
Conclusion: Our data showed that, the participants had know-ledge about STD to a certain degree. We suggest that sexual health education programs must be expanded in order to increase the ac-cessability of reliable sources and improve the quality of the know-ledge about STD.
Key Words: Sexually transmitted diseases, young men, level of knowledge