Knowledge and attitudes of high school students on sexually transmitted diseases // Znanja i stavovi srednjoškolaca o polno prenosivim bolestima

Abstract

Introduction A fully portable infection is a public-health problem of great importance in most of the world. Infections that are transmitted by sexual contact make up a large group of diseases caused by various microorganisms: bacteria, viruses, parasites, fungi and protozoa. The most common sexually transmitted infections (PPIs) are: chlamydia, gonorrhea, Hepatitis B, AIDS, HPV infections, and others.
Method The conducted research is a type of cross section study. In December of the month, 113 students of Foča SSC were interviewed from the first to the fourth year. The survey used an anonymous character questionnaire.
Results 35.4% of respondents were sexually active. Young men are sexually considerably more active than girls (χ2 = 30,447; p = 0,000). The majority of sexually active students stated that the first sexual intercourse was at the age of 15 (10.6%). Men and girls have diametrically opposite attitudes to the age in which they consider optimal time to start sexual activity (χ2 = 20,252; p = 0,000). Students in the third and fourth grade have a significantly higher level of knowledge than students of the first and second (χ2 = 31,791; p = 0,000). Most students would continue to associate with a person who knows that she has one of sexually transmitted diseases (64.6%).
Conclusion The results of this paper show that the sexual activity of the adolescents examined is not a mass phenomenon, but that the knowledge of pupils of the first and second grades is insufficient, and that there is a need for education of this target group, considering the importance of preserving the reproductive health of adolescents, which are the future of preserving the population.