Knowledge status of sexually transmitted diseases and affecting factors among foreign National University students in Türkiye

Objective: This study was conducted to evaluate the knowledge level of foreign university students in Turkey about sexually transmitted diseases and the factors affecting such knowledge. Materials and Methods: The study is a cross-sectional analytical type of research. The study is a cross-sectional analytical type of research. Data were collected using questions on socio-demographic characteristics and the Sexually Transmitted Diseases (STD) Knowledge Test. At the end of the survey process, a total of 374 foreign university students registered in the Federation of International Student Associations (UDEF) in Turkey in the 2021-2022 academic year were reached by using the "online survey" method with a voluntary non-probability sample. SPSS 18.0 was used for the analyses, and the significance level was accepted as p<0.05. While evaluating the data, descriptive criteria such as percentage, median, mean and standard deviation are calculated; Independent sample t test, One-Way ANOVA test, Mann-Whitney U test and Kruskall Wallis analysis of variance tests were used to examine the differences between groups. Multiple Linear Regression analyzes were performed to determine the factors affecting the STD knowledge level Results: It was determined that the majority of the participants 80.5% (n=301) were undergraduate students and 90.9% (n=340) were single. The mean score of Sexually Transmitted Diseases Test(STST) of the participant group was 22.63±5.24. It was found that participants studying in health departments (t=20,234, p<0.001), those who are in postgraduate studies (F=4,901, p<0.008), those who are married (t=-4,293, p<0.001) and those who have a mother with a high level of education (F=6,620, p<0.001) were significantly associated with higher knowledge levels of STDs.. There was no significant difference between smoking status and STD knowledge levels of the students (F=2,769, p>0.05). Conclusion: This study shows that foreign university students studying in Turkey have moderate knowledge about sexually transmitted diseases. Studying in health-related departments significantly affects the level of knowledge of students about STDs. It is recommended to implement sexual health and STDs education programs in order to increase students' knowledge about STDs and to prevent their diseases. Keywords: knowledge status, foreign university students in turkey, sexually transmitted diseases(STDs), affecting factors