Woman's Sexual Health Knowledge and Needs Assessment in Behavioral Clinics and Shelters in Tehran

Abstract

Objective: The aim of this study was to assess the sexual health knowledge among females seeking consultation in behavioral clinics or shelters with emphasis on sexual routs of HIV transmission.

Materials and methods: In this study 250 women who have attended behavioral clinics or shelters in Tehran were recruited and a standardized questionnaire which asked about demographics, sexual partner and knowledge about HIV/STDs was used.

Results: The median age of our cases was 40.82% and among them 16% were married but lived alone. Among the total 250 cases, 56% (140) were sexually active in the last 30 days, 19.2% (48) had a history of a one-night stand and 2.4% had more than 1 sexual partner. 212 cases answered questions about condom use, 60% (127) of them did not use condoms at all. For knowledge about signs and symptoms related to STDs, 63% believed that abdominal pain has no relation to STDs. Also 44%, 43%, 37%,and 40% believed that dyspareunia, dysuria, malodorous vaginal discharge and change in color of vaginal discharge, respectively had no relation to STDs and 13%  of whom presented with these symptoms in the past 30 days had not seek medical evaluation.

Conclusion: It is a necessity to emphasize the use of condoms among the male population however in this study it was a challenge to do so because it goes against the government’s campaign of pro-natalism. Improving the knowledge of protected sex should start from the teenage years and at school to have maximum STD prevention planning. Most women in our study did not know about healthy sexual lifestyle and this shows the need of sexual health education before marriage or even at school.