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Bosnia and Herzegovina knowledge of Sexual Health
– Reported, January 26, 2013
In many countries, sexually transmitted diseases (STDs) have emerged as one of the major public health concerns. According to the World Health Organization (WHO) estimate, there are 333 million new cases of STDs each year worldwide, of which 111 million affect people younger than 25 years. Adolescents are at the greatest risk of contracting an STD, especially high school students who are going through a sensitive period of their psychosocial development . Due to developmental challenges, adolescents often engage in risky sexual behavior . In Bosnia and Herzegovina, the 1991-1995 war and post-war circumstances could also add to risky sexual behavior of students . Sources state that 60% of adolescents do not use any contraception. One of the results of such behavior is an increasing number of unwanted pregnancies.
Knowledge is an important prevention factor for STDs and unwanted pregnancies . The aim of our study was to assess how much high school students from Mostar, Bosnia and Herzegovina, know about the contraception and sexual health, and to determine the factors that could contribute to the improvement of their knowledge on these issues.
Our results showed that high school girls had greater general knowledge about contraception and sexual health.The method of contraception best known to our participants was a condom (82%), which is congruent with the findings of other similar studies. Commercial advertisements and the fact that condoms are available in every drugstore are the most probable reason for this result. Our participants knew very little about postcoital contraception, which is congruous with the data reported in the literature . None of the students knew that a postcoital contraception pill should be taken within 72 hours after an unprotected sexual intercourse, and only 2 students knew that a postcoital intrauterine device should be introduced by a physician within five days after an unprotected intercourse. One of the probable reasons for this lack of knowledge is, again, the lack of a structured and institutionalized transfer of information to the adolescents.
On the other hand, practicing physicians who participated in another study were also uncertain about the acceptability of the postcoital contraception, especially when used more than once. Establishing an institution for sexual health and counseling might help not only the adolescents, but also the physicians to learn more about these issues and become more competent in educating the whole community.
Most our participants heard about the HIV/AIDS, which is in accordance with studies published elsewhere . The most probable reason for this is that the HIV/AIDS problem is frequently talked about in the mass media. A very small number of students heard about the Chlamydia, which gives cause for concern because the results of a recent research showed an increasing rate of the Chlamydia infection among the adolescent population. Moreover, this infection can cause acute or silent salpingitis, which can lead to extrauterine pregnancies and infertility. This fact makes the knowledge about the Chlamydia infection even more important for adolescents.
In conclusion, we must emphasize out the insufficiency of the Mostar adolescents knowledge about contraception and STDs, which calls for action from all levels parents, schools, and the health care system in Herzegovina, and most probably in the whole Bosnia and Herzegovina.
CREDITS:
Sanja Selak, Vesna Juriæ, Darko Hren, Mario Juriæ
http://neuron.mefst.hr/
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