Sexual health-related attitudes of the students who applied to Cukurova University Family Medicine polyclinics

Objective: In this study, it was aimed to determine the sexual health-related attitudes and education/counseling needs of university students receiving service from family medicine polyclinics. Materials and Methods: University students, who applied to Cukurova University Family Medicine Polyclinics between 1 November-31 December 2019 (n = 1482), constituted the target population of the study. The minimum sample size that represents the target population of the study with 95% reliability and 5% margin of error was calculated (n= 306). A questionnaire form with 28 questions, which was created by scanning the literature, was applied to the students who agreed to participate in the study. Results: The mean age of 317 participants was 19.95 ± 1,77 years(17-30) and 73,8% were women. While 1,6% of them defined their sexual orientation as bisexual, 26,2% of them replied I am not sure. Also 11,4% of the participants stated that they had sexual intercourse and 14,3% of those who had an intercourse did not use any method to prevent pregnancy. Sexual intercourse rates were higher and the age of intercourse was lower in males (p<0,05). The rate of participants who previously had problems with sexual health was 3,2%, and 12,3% of the participants reported that they could apply to the family practice if they had a sexual health problem. The question which Do you easily reach the health institutions that provide sexual health services? was answered by 20,5% of respondents in accordance with No and 35,6% with I don't know where I can get this service. It was determined that 77,3% of the participants did not receive any sexual health education, 49,2% thought that their level of knowledge about sexual health was insufficient, and 56,8% wanted to receive education about sexual health. The rate of receiving sexual health education was lower in students staying with their families and in women (p<0,05). The rate of reaching the institutions that provide sexual health services was lower in women, those who reported that did not receive sexual health education and who found the level of knowledge about sexual health insufficient (p<0.05). Conclusion: It is recommended that family physicians who serving university students are recommended to consider the findings found in this study, to take advantage of discipline- specific principles, to evaluate opportunities and to provide appropriate education/counseling services.