Students knowledge and attitudes on sexual health and contraception

Uvod: Cilj rada bio je istražiti razinu znanja i stavove o spolnom zdravlju i kontracepciji među studentima medicinskog usmjerenja te onih koji studiraju na fakultetima iz nemedicinskog područja. Nacrt studije: Istraživanje je ustrojeno kao presječna studija. Ispitanici i metode: Istraživanje je provedeno na prigodnom uzorku studenata različitih visokoškolskih ustanova. Korišten je upitnik za procjenu znanja i stavova o spolnom zdravlju i kontracepciji kreiran za potrebe ovoga istraživanja. Rezultati: Nisu utvrđene razlike između ispitanika medicinskog i nemedicinskog studija s obzirom na rezultat znanja o spolnom zdravlju i kontracepciji (P = 0,49). Značajno bolji rezultat na testu znanja su postigle ispitanice (P = 0,002). Ispitanici bez seksualnog iskustva u skupini nemedicinskih studenata pokazali su niže znanje o spolnom zdravlju i kontracepciji u odnosu na ispitanike medicinskih studija (P = 0,001). Statistički značajno bolje poznaju planiranje trudnoće ispitanici nemedicinskog usmjerenja (P = 0,03). Statistički značajno lošije poznaju simptome spolnih bolesti ispitanici nemedicinskih studija (P = 0,002). Značajna je korelacija između stupanja u prvi spolni odnos i učestalosti ginekoloških pregleda u skupini ispitanika medicinskog usmjerenja (r = 0,41). Stavovi ispitanika pokazuju da kontracepcijsku pilulu smatraju najpouzdanijom metodom kontracepcije (75 – 79 %), ali i da narušava zdravlje (59 – 62 %). Zaključak: Najveći udio ispitanika navodi više izvora znanja te bi najčešće savjete zatražili od zdravstvenih stručnjaka. Ispitivanje znanja i stavova mladih o spolnom zdravlju i kontracepciji nužno je kako bi se moglo pravovremeno detektirati nedostatke te omogućiti usvajanje informacija na relevantnim izvorima znanja.Introduction: The aim of the study was to investigate the level of knowledge and attitudes about sexual health and contraception among medical students as well as those studying at non-biomedical faculties. Study Design: The study was designed as a cross-sectional study. Methods: The study was conducted on a sample of students from different education institutions, who were divided into two groups as to whether they had studied the biomedical field. The research was conducted using a questionnaire to assess the knowledge and attitudes about sexual health and contraception. Results: The studies did not show any difference between the medical and non-medical study subjects regarding the achieved test of knowledge on sexual health and contraception (P = 0.49). Within both study groups, a statistically significantly better score on the sexual health and contraception knowledge test was achieved by female respondents (P = 0.002). Respondents without sexual experience in a group of non-medical students showed statistically lower knowledge of sexual health and contraception than those of medical students (P = 0.001). Non-medical respondents (P = 0.03) were significantly more familiar with pregnancy planning. Non-medical study respondents (P = 0.002) were significantly less familiar with the symptoms of sexually transmitted diseases. A significant correlation between first sexual intercourse and the incidence of gynecological examinations was significant, but only in the group of medical subjects (r = 0.41). Respondents` views show that they consider the contraceptive pill the most reliable method of contraception (75 – 79 %), while at the same time they believe that it impairs health (59 – 62 %). Conclusion: The largest proportion of respondents cited multiple sources of knowledge about sexual health and contraception and would most often seek advice from healthcare professionals. Examining the knowledge and attitudes of young people about sexual health and contraception is necessary in order to detect deficiencies in a timely manner and to enable the adoption of sexual health information on relevant sources of knowledge