Knowledge of sexually transmitted infection among adults living in Saudi Arabia: a national cross-sectional study

Abstract

Sexually transmitted infections (STIs) are a major global health, occurring in different worldwide nations. Discussing STIs in Saudi society is considered taboo, due to social and ethical constraints. Sexual health is a serious issue in Saudi Arabia due to conservative religious values make sexual health among youth a significant concern, as young people face heightened vulnerability to STIs due to increased sexual experimentation, limited awareness, and difficulty accessing treatment. The study purpose is to evaluate the knowledge of STIs among adults in Saudi Arabia. This cross-sectional study involves adult men and women from various regions of Saudi Arabia. Sexually transmitted diseases (STD) knowledge scores were calculated using a validated 27-item Arabic questionnaire adapted from existing tools. Survey data were analyzed using IBM SPSS version 20.0. Results are presented as frequencies and percentages. Chi-squared or Fisher’s exact tests were used for comparisons, with statistical significance set at p < 0.05. In a study with 1706 participants (94.7% response rate), the gender distribution was 825 males (48%) and 881 females (52%). Most respondents were aged 18–23 (43%), followed by 24–31 (27%) and 32–39 (14%) years. Geographically, 71% were from the central region, with significant gender differences in regional distribution (p < 0.0001). The estimated overall mean of knowledge scores (STDs-KS) was 6.65 ± 3.1. The STD-KS showed no significant association with age. However, gender had a significant association (p < 0.0001), with males having slightly lower scores (6.5 ± 3.0) than females (6.8 ± 3.2). Marital status showed marginal significance (p = 0.042), and educational status had a significant association (p < 0.0001) with STD-KS. In conclusion, this study highlights the significance of demographic factors in STD knowledge. It emphasizes the need for targeted interventions considering age, gender, marital status, education and geography to enhance STI awareness and prevention.

Keywords

• sexually transmitted diseases
• sexually transmitted infection
• saudi arabia
• knowledge