Sexuality and contraceptive knowledge in university students: instrument development and psychometric analysis using item response theory

Sanz-Martos, Sebastián; Medina, Isabel María López; Álvarez-García, Cristina; Nieto, Carmen Álvarez

doi:10.1186/s12978-019-0791-9

Cited by 11 publications

(10 citation statements)

References 14 publications

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“… Level of knowledge about Sex&CM: measured through the SexContraKnow-Instrument scale, validated in Spanish and consisting of 15 items with three answer options (True/False, Do not know, No answer). The scale showed a reliability of 0.99 for items and 0.74 for people [ 19 ]. The score range is between 0 and 15, and the level of knowledge is categorized as excellent (≥90%), very good (70–89%), good (55–69%), insufficient (30–54%), and poor (≤29%).…”

Section: Methodsmentioning

confidence: 99%

Young Nursing Student’s Knowledge and Attitudes about Contraceptive Methods

Sanz-Martos

Medina

Álvarez-García

et al. 2020

IJERPH

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Purpose: Adolescence is considered a period in which individuals are particularly at risk of negative consequences related to sexual health. Increased knowledge levels have traditionally been used as an indicator of the effectiveness of educational programs, but attitudes are not addressed and are a key element for the success of such programs. The aim of this study is to determine the level of knowledge and attitudes toward the use of contraceptive methods among nursing students. A multicenter cross-sectional study was carried out. In total, 2914 university students (aged 18–25 years) enrolled in the study. Participants completed two validated scales to measure knowledge level and attitudes toward contraceptive use. Nursing degree students who received training about contraceptives obtained a success rate of over 70%, compared to 15.3% among students who had not received such training (p < 0.001). The mean attitude score was 43.45 points (10–50), but there were no significant differences in terms of student training (p = 0.435), although they were significantly higher among students who used contraceptives at first or last sexual intercourse (p < 0.001). There was a significant weak correlation between the level of knowledge and attitudes toward the use of contraceptives. An adequate level of knowledge about sexuality and contraceptive methods does not correspond to positive attitudes toward their use, although having an excellent attitude toward contraceptive use is related to their use during youth and adolescence.

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Section: Methodsmentioning

confidence: 99%

Young Nursing Student’s Knowledge and Attitudes about Contraceptive Methods

Sanz-Martos

Medina

Álvarez-García

et al. 2020

IJERPH

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“…Nonetheless, the present results should be interpreted with the study limitations in mind, viz., the use of an original questionnaire may skew the results as it is possible that the items assessed may not be representative of the real knowledge about contraception; this is a common obstacle in studies regarding contraceptive literacy [ 16 , 17 ]. The study was developed in schools close to the authors’ practice location (two in the Northern region of Portugal and one in the Center) and results may not represent the knowledge and attitudes of adolescents throughout the whole country; however, sexual education programs and family planning appointments are defined by law, so, barring local or regional constraints, all adolescents should have been exposed to similar information.…”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Bridging the Gap Between Family Medicine and Adolescents: Creating Opportunities Through Sex Education

Abreu¹,

Silva²,

Vieira³

et al. 2022

Cureus

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Introduction: Despite school sex education programs defined by law and a national healthcare service with dedicated family planning appointments, the number of teenage pregnancies in Portugal remains significant. The implementation of these programs has been found lacking and a disconnection between adolescents and primary healthcare has been identified. Adolescents have low literacy in contraception, with males being less involved and informed. With this project, the authors sought to propose an alternative approach to school sex education, aiming to improve the global knowledge and adequate use of contraception methods by teenagers.Material and Methods: Single-arm prospective interventional study was done to assess the impact of a new model of sexual education learning on adolescents' knowledge and use of contraception methods. A 30minute lecture was developed by Family Medicine residents focusing on the main aspects of contraception and sexual education, using informal language and slideshow presentations. A form using "Yes/No", "True or False", multiple answer, and Likert scale questions was built to assess attitudes and levels of literacy. Two time points were defined to assess the impact of the intervention, applying the form before and one month after the lecture. Four high schools were invited to enter the study, with 190 students enrolled after personal and guardian authorization. IBM SPSS Statistics for Windows, Version 27.0 (Released 2020; IBM Corp., Armonk, New York, United States) was used to perform statistical analysis.Results: A total of 190 participants aged between 14 and 19 years answered both forms. A high 73.7% reported never having had a family planning appointment, with "Not knowing about the possibility" and "Not feeling comfortable with" being the main reasons; 26.3% were sexually active, from which 44% admitted having had intercourse without any kind of protection. Regarding sources of information about contraception, "School," "Internet," and "Friends" were the most prevalent, with only 43% considering the healthcare providers a source. In the contraceptive literacy evaluation, the participants overestimated their knowledge pre-intervention; however, this gap was attenuated in the second evaluation. Moreover, there was a statistically significant improvement in literacy between assessments for all genders. After the intervention, 40.6% reported discussing contraception outside the classroom. Discussion: The low attendance of the family planning appointments and the low number of participants that considered healthcare services as a source of information in contraception conveys the idea that primary healthcare does not play the desired role in disseminating reliable information on contraception among teenagers. This is concerning considering the overestimated knowledge, low literacy, and risky behaviors identified. The intervention managed to improve the teenagers' literacy while reinforcing the importance of family planning appointments and inciting dialogue among the participants. Con...

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“…The scale showed a reliability of 0.99 for the items and 0.74 for the persons; the intraclass correlation coe cient for testretest reliability obtained a value of 0.81. [17] The score range is between 0 and 15, and the level of knowledge is categorized as follows: excellent (≥90% correct), very good (89-70%), good (69-50%), and insu cient (< 50%).…”

Section: Methodsmentioning

confidence: 99%

Young Nursing and Medical Students’ Knowledge and Attitudes Toward Contraceptive Methods

Juan-Pablo

Martinino

Manicone

et al. 2022

Preprint

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Background: Living sexuality fully and without risk to one's health is an international priority. The youth age group has specific characteristics that make it a particularly vulnerable group for adverse consequences such as unwanted pregnancies or sexually transmitted infections. Health professionals are an important group to address this issue; however, to achieve a good result, sufficient knowledge is required to solve all the issues. This study aimed to assess the level of knowledge of young university students studying toward a nursing or medical degree.Methods: A descriptive cross-sectional study of young medical and nursing students was conducted. The Sexuality and Contraceptive Knowledge Instrument scale was used to measure knowledge level. A bivariate analysis was conducted using the Mann–Whitney U test or the Kruskal–Wallis H test, depending on the number of categories of the independent variable. Finally, a multivariate analysis was conducted using a multiple linear regression model, establishing the level of knowledge as the dependent variable and all variables that obtained statistical significance in the bivariate analysis as predictors.Results: Participants had a good level of knowledge, with 77.9% answering 50% of the questions correctly. Before training, 34.15% of the participants did not pass 50% of the questions asked. This percentage decreased to 12.87% after receiving sexuality training during the university degrees. The main training gaps were found for the items on hormonal contraceptive methods. The bivariate analysis showed that female participants had significantly higher knowledge scores, as did those who had used a hormonal contraceptive method during the most recent intercourse or were aware of family planning centers. These variables maintained their significant effect at the multivariate level, obtaining two models with good explanatory power for participants of both university degrees. Conclusion: The general level of knowledge of the healthcare students was high and sufficient after receiving training during the university degree. The main training gap was found for items on hormonal contraceptive methods, which should be emphasized in future training programs.

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Sexuality and contraceptive knowledge in university students: instrument development and psychometric analysis using item response theory

Cited by 11 publications

References 14 publications

Young Nursing Student’s Knowledge and Attitudes about Contraceptive Methods

Young Nursing Student’s Knowledge and Attitudes about Contraceptive Methods

Bridging the Gap Between Family Medicine and Adolescents: Creating Opportunities Through Sex Education

Young Nursing and Medical Students’ Knowledge and Attitudes Toward Contraceptive Methods

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