Publication:

Evaluating premarital screening knowledge in Saudi students

Background The purpose of this research was to investigate the impact of premarital screening (PMS) in Saudi Arabia.  The use of PMS as a means to identify and approach both and infectious and hereditary disease was investigated in order to determine the impact of this practical approach.

Methods A cross-sectional study was conducted at Jazan University from January to June 2014 to perform this research. A self-administered questionnaire was distributed to 1000 Jazan University Students, both males and females. The questionnaire consisted of 3 main parts.  The first part was based on socio-demographic data, the second part dealt with the students’ knowledge about the premarital screening program while the third part explored their attitudes towards the screening program.

Results The vast majority of the participants (922; 94%) believed that a PMS program was a preventive measure. More than two thirds of the participants (613; 72.5%) favored having regulation & law for premarital screening and most of the students (891; 90.8%) believed PMS programs limited the spread of hereditary (HD) and infectious diseases (ID). Most of the participants (756; 77.1%) reported that PMS tests should be done before engagement.

Conclusions A large majority of the participants believed PMS program worked as a preventive measure; most of participants believed PMS program limited the spread of HD & ID. This reflects the importance of health education as a backbone in improving knowledge and attitude towards premarital screening programs.