Publication:

Assessing and improving the knowledge of sexually transmitted infections among freshers in the selected universities, Magway

Background To alleviate the public burden of sexually transmitted infections (STIs), one of the effective strategies is to improve the knowledge and awareness of STIs, especially among high-risk populations. This study aimed to assess the baseline knowledge score on STIs among freshers and to evaluate the effectiveness of a health education program on STIs.

Methods A cross-sectional comparative study, incorporating pre-test and post-test design with a health education program, was conducted using a self-administered questionnaire among 110 freshers from medical-related university and 110 from non-medical university in Magway in 2023. Data analysis was done by R.

Results Regarding the types of STIs, almost all (217, 97.7%) of the freshers identified AIDS as STI followed by syphilis (131, 59.5%) and gonorrhea (83, 37.7%). Concerning the modes of transmission, nearly all (216, 98.2%) identified sexual contact. About 39 (17%) of the freshers stated that they did not know the signs of STIs whereas 11, 5% were unaware of the complications. For the prevention of STIs, many students (208, 94.5%) stated the use of condoms. A statistically significant difference in baseline STIs knowledge scores was observed between the medical-related (25.1±5.9) and non-medical university (21.2±5.7) students (p<0.001), as well as between males (24.2±6.0) and females (21.5±5.7) (p<0.001). Following the health education session, there was a significant mean improvement of 14.4 points in post-test score (p<0.001).

Conclusions This data highlighted the need for health education programs on STIs among university students.