Knowledge Levels of University Students About Sexually Transmitted Diseases

Abstract

Purpose: The aim of the study; To evaluate the knowledge level of nursing students about diseases transmitted by bodily fluids. Materials and Methods: The study is descriptive-cross-sectional. The sample is 352 nursing students studying at a foundation university. The data were evaluated with a questionnaire about diseases transmitted by body fluids. Results: The mean age of nursing students was 20.87±2.14 years and 81.3% of them were girls. Most of the sample consisted of 1st year (26.7%) and 4th year students (31.5%). The mean score of the questionnaire for diseases transmitted by bodily fluids of nursing students was found to be 13.61 ± 2.19. It was determined that 96.9% of the students gave correct answers to the 2nd item of the questionnaire, “Spouses with these diseases should be treated together”. It was determined that 69.3% of the students gave incorrect answers to the 3rd item of the questionnaire, "Untreated, diseases transmitted by body fluids can cause infertility". 62.5% of the students reported that they had received training on the subject before. Of the sample, 97.2% are individuals who have relationships with more than one person, 1.1% are individuals with a single spouse, 38.1% (n=134) are people who use drugs, 31.8% are health professionals. reported that they were in the high-risk group for diseases transmitted by fluids. The results show that nursing students gave insufficient information about the prevention of diseases transmitted by body fluids. Conclusion: In the study, it was determined that the knowledge of nursing students about diseases transmitted by body fluids was above the medium level, and it was noteworthy that they needed training on transmission routes, risk groups and protection from diseases transmitted by body fluids.