RESEARCH ARTICLE
The Necessity of Developing AIDS and Reproductive Health Indicators for Iranian Adolescents in the National Health System; The Evaluation of Indicators among 18-24 Year Old University Students of Shahroud, Iran: A Cross-Sectional Study
Katayon Vakilian1, *, Afsaneh Keramat2, Mousavi Seyyed Abbas3
Article Information
Identifiers and Pagination:
Year: 2018Volume: 11
First Page: 339
Last Page: 347
Publisher ID: TOPHJ-11-339
DOI: 10.2174/1874944501811010339
Article History:
Received Date: 6/03/2018Revision Received Date: 21/7/2018
Acceptance Date: 24/7/2018
Electronic publication date: 13/08/2018
Collection year: 2018
open-access license: This is an open access article distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International Public License (CC-BY 4.0), a copy of which is available at: https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/legalcode. This license permits unrestricted use, distribution, and reproduction in any medium, provided the original author and source are credited.
Abstract
Background and Objectives:
Indicators are required to assess health needs as well as monitor, implement and evaluate the impact of health promotion programs. In the present study, efficacious indicators in the prevention of HIV/AIDS and enhancement of reproductive health were developed and measured.
Materials and Methods:
After creating a database, the indicators were presented to a panel of experts. A total of 28 indicators, which were divided into three domain categories viz: “knowledge”, “attitude” and “behavior” were developed after prioritization. In the next stage, 1500 male and female students within the age bracket of 18-24 were included after ascertaining the validity and reliability of some of the study's questionnaires. Multistage sampling was employed. After obtaining approval from universities and the respective professors, the questionnaires were distributed to students. Data were analyzed using SPSS software, version 20 and Pearson's descriptive-analytical statistics.
Results:
Responding to whether “AIDS can be transmitted through the use of a previously used toilet by an individual suffering from AIDS” or not, 168 (18.8%) female and 166 (32.0%) male students answered correctly, with the difference being statistically significant (p = 0.001). A total of 293 (40.6%) male students believed that the perfect age for males to get married was 26 or under. A total of 157 (30.4%) female and 267 (29.5%) male students believed that the majority of their single friends had never had sexual relations, respectively.
Conclusion:
Planning can be carried out to reduce factors that adversely affect the enhancement of adolescents’ reproductive and sexual health through the measurement of such indicators, including educational and service programs that provide a better access to such services for adolescents.