Factors affecting the knowledge and the behaviour of The Army Recruıts Of The 8th Army Corps In Elazıg about the reproductive health

Reproductive health is an important issue influencing the personal health of the people especially in the developing world. This study was conducted to analyze the factors affecting the knowledge and the behaviour of the army recruits about the reproductive health; the universe of this cross sectional study was 1952 army recruits serving in the 8TH Army Corps located in Elazig. The whole universe was included in the analyses. The number of visits reached to 1841 with recurrent visits and the response rate was %94.3.The mean age of the study population was 22.39±3.08. 17.9 % was graduated from the elemantary school, 18.9% was unemployed and 15.8% was married. 27.1% was married with a relative. The definitons of the reproductive health and family planning was made correctly by only 0.1% and 0.2% of the study population respectively. IUD?s, oral contraceptive pills, condoms and injectable contraceptives were known by the 35.4%, 49.6%, 46.7% and 28.8% of the study population respectively. 63.2% of the married man (184 people) was using any kind of family planning methods. 66.8%, 46.2% and 36.9% was aware of the sexual transmission of AIDS, Hepatitis B and gonorrhea respectively. The education level was directly proportional with the awareness regarding family planning, STD?s and prevention from the STD?s.As a result the awareness level of the army recruits serving in the 8TH Army Corps located in Elazıg regarding the reproductive health and family planning was low. Therefore educational interventions aiming to raise the awareness level of the men should be regarded as a priority.Keywords: Reproductive health, Awareness, Behaviour, Recruit