Determining the Married Couples' Levels of Knowledge about Sexually Transmitted Diseases

• Published in: International journal of caring sciences Vol. 11; no. 2; pp. 672 - 676
• Main Authors: Cagan, Ozlem, Sahin, Berrak Mizrak, Unsal, Alaettin, Celik, Nese, Yilmaz, Aysun Ture
• Format: Journal Article
• Language: English
• Published: Nicosia Professor Despina Sapountzi - Krepia Publisher of the International Journal of Caring Sciences 01-05-2018
• Subjects: Acquired immune deficiency syndrome; AIDS; Condoms; Couples; Sexually transmitted diseases; STD; Turkey
• ISSN: 1791-5201; 1792-037X

Background: Sexually transmitted infections are important health problems in terms of the disease burdens caused by their complications and sequela through the high incidence of acute cases. This study aimed to determine the level of knowledge of married couples in the stage of marriage in Eskisehir about sexually transmitted diseases and to analyze the variables thought to be relevant. Methods: This study was a cross-sectional study carried out on couples in the stage of marriage in the city center of Eskisehir between January 15th and May 15th, 2015. It included 360 couples who applied to a marriage office in Eskisehir, Turkey. A questionnaire was prepared as suitably for the purpose of the study by making use of the international literature and consisted of three parts. The first part was the socio-demographic data, the second part was the STD and the third part was consisted of questions including the knowledge of contraceptive methods. Data was assessed in via the SPSS (version 20.0) Statistical Package Program. Mann Whitney U Test, Kruskal Wallis Test and Spearman Correlation Analysis were used for analysis. A p-value of <0.05 was considered statistically significant. Results: 183 (50.8%) of the participants in the study groups were female and 177 (49.2%) were male. Their ages varied between 17 and 58 and average age was 26.63±4.94years. Points scored in the knowledge questions about STDs varied between 0-25 and median point was 14.01±5.86. It was determined that those who were graduate, at the age of 30 and over and those who had health professional within the family and didn't have a STD history had a higher level of knowledge about STD (p<0.05 for each). No variation was found between gender, employment status, family income state and the level of knowledge about sexually transmitted diseases(p>0.05). Conclusion: In this study, it was determined that the couples in the stage of marriage in Eskisehir had a medium level of knowledge about STDs. It will be beneficial to provide appropriate training about STDs for couples in the stage of marriage.