Knowledge and Acceptance of Sexually Transmitted Diseases Screening Among Teachers, Parents, and Secondary School Students in Selangor, Malaysia
Main Article Content
Abstract
Introduction: The significant rise in sexually transmitted diseases (STDs) among Malaysian youth aged 16 to 24 emphasizes the necessity of evaluating their knowledge and acceptance of STD screening as a critical public health intervention. This study aimed to examine the level of knowledge and acceptance of STD screening and to determine the differences between teachers, parents, and school students. Materials and methods: A survey study using convenience and snowballing sampling was conducted on 386 respondents including teachers, parents, and secondary school students in Selangor aged between 13–54 years old. A validated questionnaire was used to collect data on demographic, knowledge, and acceptance of STD screening. Results: Teachers demonstrated the highest mean knowledge scores (M=7.14, SD=1.38), followed by school students (M=7.08, SD=2.10) and parents (M=5.72, SD=3.25). Teachers’ mean level of acceptance of STD screening was the highest (M=30.83, SD=4.04) followed by parents (M=23.43, SD=2.86) and school students (M=18.07, SD=3.01). A MANOVA analysis showed that the knowledge and acceptance variables were statistically significant at a Bonferroni-adjusted alpha level of .025, F(2,382)=13.04, p<.001, and F(2,382)=329.69, p<.001 accordingly. Conclusion: Teachers should enhance students' sexual health knowledge through diverse methods, while parents should actively engage in sharing STD information. Sex education should be integrated into the national curriculum, and school-based STD screening programs should involve various stakeholders. This approach can reduce teenage STD cases. Future research should expand the sample size, explore diverse communities, and assess the impact of school-based programs on adolescent health outcomes to inform policy and strategies.
Downloads
Article Details
References
World Health Organization. Sexually transmitted infections (STIs). 2023. Available from: [https://www.who.int/news-room/fact-sheets/detail/sexually-transmitted-infections-(stis)](https://www.who.int/news-room/fact-sheets/detail/sexually-transmitted-infections-%28stis%29)
Liddon N, Pampati S, Dunville R, Kilmer G, Steiner RJ. Annual STI Testing Among Sexually Active Adolescents. Pediatrics. 2022;149(5):e2021051893. doi:10.1542/peds.2021-051893.
Kam JK, Wong LK, Fu KC. Creation of Sexually Transmitted Diseases Education Program for Young Adults in Rural Cambodia. Front Public Health. 2019;7:50. doi:10.3389/fpubh.2019.00050.
Aazmi S, Nor FM, Anuar TS, Kamaruzaman TNST, Aziz MN, Ibrahim N, Yusof FZM. A Two-Year Retrospective Study on Epidemiology Characteristics of Sexually Transmitted Infections from Malaysian Private Healthcare Perspective. Malays J Med Health Sci. 2021;17(4):268–274.
Ministry of Health Malaysia. Global AIDS Monitoring 2020. Available from: [https://www.moh.gov.my/moh/resources/Penerbitan/Laporan/Umum/Laporan_Global_AIDS_Monitoring_2020_new.pdf](https://www.moh.gov.my/moh/resources/Penerbitan/Laporan/Umum/Laporan_Global_AIDS_Monitoring_2020_new.pdf)
Lane K, Miller E, Kisloff L, Wiesenfeld HC. Many parents would accept sexually transmitted infection screening for their adolescent at a pediatric office visit. J Adolesc Health. 2020;66(5):626–628. doi:10.1016/j.jadohealth.2019.12.019.
Taylor’s University. Empowering Youths Start With Comprehensive Sex Education. 2022. Available from: [https://university.taylors.edu.my/en/campus-life/news-and-events/news/empowering-youths-start-with-comprehensive-sex-education.html](https://university.taylors.edu.my/en/campus-life/news-and-events/news/empowering-youths-start-with-comprehensive-sex-education.html)
Make sex ed more comprehensive. The Star. 2022. Available from: [https://www.thestar.com.my/news/education/2022/07/31/make-sex-ed-more-comprehensive](https://www.thestar.com.my/news/education/2022/07/31/make-sex-ed-more-comprehensive)
Mansor N, Ahmad N, Rahman HA. Determinants of knowledge on sexually transmitted infections among students in public higher education institutions in Melaka state, Malaysia. PLoS One. 2020;15(10):e0240842. doi:10.1371/journal.pone.0240842.
Yu F, Hsiao YH, Park S, Kambara K, Allan B, Brough G, et al. The influence of anticipated HIV stigma on health-related behaviors, self-rated health, and treatment preferences among people living with HIV in East Asia. AIDS Behav. 2023;27(4):1287–1303. doi:10.1007/s10461-022-03865-5.
Parrish J. Coping with Sexually Transmitted Diseases. New York: Rosen Publishing Group; 2019.
Subbarao NT, Akhilesh A. Knowledge and attitude about sexually transmitted infections other than HIV among college students. Indian J Sex Transm Dis AIDS. 2017;38(1):10–14. doi:10.4103/0253-7184.196888.
Zin NM, Ishak I, Manoharan K. Knowledge, attitude and practice towards sexually transmitted diseases amongst the inmates of women shelters homes at Klang Valley. BMC Public Health. 2019;19(1):6863. doi:10.1186/s12889-019-6863-5.
Samkange-Zeeb FN, Spallek L, Zeeb H. Awareness and knowledge of sexually transmitted diseases among school-going adolescents in Europe: A systematic review. BMC Public Health. 2011;11(1):727. doi:10.1186/1471-2458-11-727.
Awang H, Wong LP, Jani R, Low WY. Knowledge of sexually transmitted diseases and sexual behaviours among Malaysian male youths. J Biosoc Sci. 2014;46(2):214–224. doi:10.1017/S0021932013000114.
Soleymani S, Abdul Rahman H, Lekhraj R, Mohd Zulkefli NA, Matinnia N. A cross-sectional study to explore postgraduate students’ understanding of and beliefs about sexual and reproductive health in a public university, Malaysia. Reprod Health. 2015;12(1):70. doi:10.1186/s12978-015-0070-3.
Chong SCS, Hollingshead BM, Lim SH, Bourne A. A scoping review of sexual transmission-related HIV research among key populations in Malaysia: Implications for interventions across the HIV care cascade. Glob Public Health. 2021;16(7):1014–1027. doi:10.1080/17441692.2020.1822901.
Shrestha R, Lim SH, Altice FL, Copenhaver M, Wickersham JA, Saifi R, et al. Use of smartphone to seek sexual health information online among Malaysian men who have sex with men: Implications for mHealth intervention. J Community Health. 2020;45:10–19. doi:10.1007/s10900-019-00713-x.
KENPRO. Sample Size Determination Using Krejcie and Morgan Table. Kenya Projects Organization; 2012. Available from: [https://www.kenpro.org/sample-size-determination-using-krejcie-and-morgan-table/](https://www.kenpro.org/sample-size-determination-using-krejcie-and-morgan-table/)
Drago F, Ciccarese G, Zangrillo F, Gasparini G, Cogorno L, Riva S, et al. A survey of current knowledge on sexually transmitted diseases and sexual behaviour in Italian adolescents. Int J Environ Res Public Health. 2016;13(4):422. doi:10.3390/ijerph13040422.
Gogineni V, Waselewski ME, Jamison CD, Bell JA, Hadler N, Chaudhry KA, Chang T, Mmeje OO. The future of STI screening and treatment for youth: A national survey of youth perspectives and intentions. BMC Public Health. 2021;21(1):2091. doi:10.1186/s12889-021-12091-y.
Wanje G, Masese L, Avuvika E, Baghazal A, Omoni G, McClelland RS. Parents’ and teachers’ views on sexual health education and screening for sexually transmitted infections among in-school adolescent girls in Kenya: A qualitative study. Reprod Health. 2017;14(1):1. doi:10.1186/s12978-017-0360-z.
Ishak F, Nordin MN. The review model on the parental involvement of students with special educational needs in sexual education. Special Education. 2023;1(1):e0003. doi:10.59055/se.v1i1.3.
Nsuami JM, Sanders LS, Taylor SN. Knowledge of sexually transmitted infections among high school students. Am J Health Educ. 2010;41(4):206–217. doi:10.1080/19325037.2010.10599147.
Liu R, Xu K, Zhang X, Cheng F, Gao L, Xu J. HIV-related knowledge and sexual behaviours among teenagers: Implications for public health interventions. Children. 2023;10(7):1198. doi:10.3390/children10071198.
Sham F, Yaakub S, Fawati FN, Fatinni SJ, Azamuddin AA. Knowledge, attitudes, risk behaviours and preventive practices on sexually transmitted diseases among students in a public university in Malaysia. Malays J Public Health Med. 2020;20(3):100–108. doi:10.37268/mjphm/vol.20/no.3/art.610.
Selamat NW, Martinez KP, Nizam MS, Subrain G, Tan LY, Auamnoy T. Awareness, knowledge and attitude on urinary tract infection among government secondary school students in Shah Alam, Malaysia. Malays J Med Health Sci. 2020;16(Suppl 1):1–6. doi:10.1007/s10389-019-01034-y.
Barmania S, Aljunid SM. Premarital HIV testing in Malaysia: A qualitative exploratory study on the views of major stakeholders involved in HIV prevention. BMC Int Health Hum Rights. 2017;17(1):12. doi:10.1186/s12914-017-0120-8.
Talib J, Mamat M, Ibrahim M, Mohamad Z. Analysis on sex education in schools across Malaysia. Procedia Soc Behav Sci. 2012;59:340–348. doi:10.1016/j.sbspro.2012.09.284.
Mokhtar MM, Rosenthal DA, Hocking JS, Satar NA. Bridging the gap: Malaysian youths and the pedagogy of school-based sexual health education. Procedia Soc Behav Sci. 2013;85:236–245. doi:10.1016/j.sbspro.2013.08.355.
Panchaud C, Keogh SC, Stillman M, Awusabo-Asare K, Motta A, Sidze E, et al. Towards comprehensive sexuality education: A comparative analysis of the policy environment surrounding school-based sexuality education in Ghana, Peru, Kenya and Guatemala. Sex Educ. 2019;19(3):277–296. doi:10.1080/14681811.2018.1533460.
Vishwaroop A. Importance of Sex Education in Schools. Teachmint Blog. 2022. Available from: [https://blog.teachmint.com/importance-of-sex-education-in-schools/](https://blog.teachmint.com/importance-of-sex-education-in-schools/)
Yeo KJ, Lee SH. Development and validation of an instrument to measure parental attitude and health beliefs toward sexuality education. SAGE Open. 2023;13(1):21582440221139470. doi:10.1177/21582440221139470.
Ihwani SS, Muhtar A, Musa N, Ab Rahim NA, Rashed ZN. Sex education beyond school: Implications for practice and research. J Adv Rev Sci Res. 2015;14(1):12–16. doi:10.53840/attarbawiy.v2i2.79.
Malaysian Medical Council. Guideline: Consent for Treatment of Patients by Registered Medical Practitioners. 2016. Available from: [https://mmc.gov.my/wp-content/uploads/2019/11/Consent_Guideline_21062016.pdf](https://mmc.gov.my/wp-content/uploads/2019/11/Consent_Guideline_21062016.pdf)
Cohall A, Cohall R, Rais M, Zucker J, Sanchez D, Carnevale C, et al. Implementing an STI screening initiative in New York City community colleges. J Am Coll Health. 2022;70(8):2303–2310. doi:10.1080/07448481.2022.2068018.
Taylor MM, Frasure-Williams J, Burnett P, Park IU. Interventions to improve sexually transmitted disease screening in clinic-based settings. Sex Transm Dis. 2016;43(2 Suppl 1):S28–S34. doi:10.1097/OLQ.0000000000000294.
Visalli G, Cosenza B, Mazzù FB, Bertuccio MP, Spataro P, Pellicanò GF, et al. Knowledge of sexually transmitted infections and risky behaviours: A survey among high school and university students. J Prev Med Hyg. 2019;60(2):E84–E92. doi:10.4103/phmj.phmj_14_19.
Subbarao NT, Akhilesh A. Knowledge and attitude about sexually transmitted infections other than HIV among college students. Indian J Sex Transm Dis AIDS. 2017;38(1):10–14. doi:10.4103/0253-7184.196888.
Yaacob NA, Abdul Rahim AF, Najid NA, Mohd Noor R, Zulkifli N. Sex education for children: A betterment pathway for ASEAN member states. In: Charting a Sustainable Future of ASEAN in Business and Social Sciences. Springer; 2020. p. 477–489. doi:10.1007/978-981-15-3859-9_41.
Chia MS, Wong JY, Chan IP, Ng KC. What matters to patients: Parental and caregiver opinions on International Consortium for Health Outcomes Measurements overall health outcomes for children in Singapore. Proc Singap Healthc. 2021;30(4):294–301. doi:10.1177/2010105820979324.