Reproductive health knowledge, attitudes and practices of Iranian college students

ABSTRACT

To study reproductive health knowledge, attitudes and practices of youth in the Islamic Republic of Iran, 1111 university students completed a questionnaire with 43 closed questions. The overall mean knowledge score was 54%. Knowledge of males and females, and of married and single students, was similar. Of 664 students answering questions about reproductive health behaviour, 54 [8%] reported having sexual intercourse before marriage; 16% of males and 0.6% of females; 48% of them had used condoms. The majority of students believed that the risk of AIDS and other sexually transmitted infections was moderate but that youth had a low ability to practise healthy behaviour. The majority believed in the benefits of reproductive health knowledge for youth but felt that services were inadequate