Awareness of and Knowledge About STIs Among Nonmedical Students in Iran
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Authors

Mohammad Karamouzian, HIV/STI Surveillance Research Center Armita Shahesmaeili, HIV/STI Surveillance Research Center Razieh Khajehkazemi, Kerman University of Medical Sciences, Kerman, Iran Samira Hosseini Hooshyar, HIV/STI Surveillance Research Center Homeira Fallahi, Ministry of Health and Medical Education, Tehran, Iran Ali Akbar Haghdoost, Kerman University of Medical Sciences, Kerman, Iran Hamid Sharifi, HIV/STI Surveillance Research Center
CONTEXT

Evidence on STI knowledge among Iranian nonmedical university students is limited. Information is needed to inform research and policies to improve the sexual health of university students in Iran.

METHODS

A convenience sample of 742 male and female undergraduate and graduate students was recruited from five nonmedical public and private universities in Iran in 2014. Respondents' awareness of and knowledge about STIs were assessed using a validated questionnaire. Chi-square tests, student t tests and one-way analysis of variance were used to compare the percentage of respondents giving correct responses across subgroups of students.

RESULTS

Half of the respondents had ever heard of STIs, but most could not correctly identify STIs in a list of diseases. A total of 49%, 42% and 9% of the respondents had low, moderate and high STI knowledge scores, respectively. Respondents reported online sources (62%) and friends (32%) as their main sources of information about STIs, and those who were older, ever-married or more educated were more knowledgeable than other respondents.

CONCLUSIONS

Given that the Internet was students' main source of information, increasing the accessibility and visibility of credible Internet sites about sexual health is warranted. Also, key individuals in students' networks (e.g., parents, teachers, peers) should be equipped with required training and knowledge on STI-related topics and be actively involved in sexual health education efforts.

Author's Affiliations

Mohammad Karamouzian is epidemiologist, Armita Shahesmaeili is assistant professor of epidemiology, Samira Hosseini Hooshyar is project manager and Hamid Sharifi is associate professor of epidemiology at the HIV/STI Surveillance Research Center and World Health Organization Collaborating Centre for HIV Surveillance; and Razieh Khajehkazemi is epidemiologist and Ali Akbar Haghdoost is professor of epidemiology at the Research Center for Modeling in Health—all at the Institute for Futures Studies in Health, Kerman University of Medical Sciences, Kerman, Iran. Homeira Fallahi is education expert at the HIV/STI Office, Ministry of Health and Medical Education, Tehran, Iran.

Author contact: [email protected]

Disclaimer

The views expressed in this publication do not necessarily reflect those of the Guttmacher Institute.
Volume 43, Issue 1
March 2017
|
Page 21

First published online:

DOI: https://doi.org/10.1363/43e3217
http://www.jstor.org/stable/10.1363/43e3217