Knowledge, Attitudes And Practices Of Syrian Refugee Mothers Towards Sexually Transmitted Infections

Figures & data

Table 1 Syrian Refugee Mothers’ Knowledge Of STIs (N = 523)

No.	Questions	Correct n (%)	Total Score (M±SD)
1.	Modes of STIs transmission		62.41±25.46
	Sexual intercourse	466 (89.1)
	Blood transfusion	449 (85.9)
	Mother to child	353 (67.5)
	Oral sex	317 (60.6)
	Anal sex	313 (59.8)
	Breast milk	261 (49.9)
	Toilet seat	126 (24.1)
2.	Prevention methods of STIs		54.03±26.86
	Sexual abstinence	348 (66.5)
	Multiple sexual partners	327 (62.5)
	Condoms	320 (61.2)
	Vaccines	318 (60.8)
	Vaginal douching	100 (19.1)
3.	Clinical Symptoms of STIs		39.96±27.17
	Vaginal itching	276 (52.8)
	Foul-smelling vaginal discharge	258 (49.3)
	Dyspareunia	251 (48.0)
	Symptomless infection	244 (46.7)
	Penal discharge	174 (33.3)
	Women show less symptoms than men	158 (30.2)
	Heavy menstrual/between periods bleeding	102 (19.5)
4.	Complication of STIs		57.52±31.66
	Pelvic Inflammatory Disease	367 (70.2)
	Fetal or newborn complication	352 (67.3)
	Pregnancy and childbirth complications	327 (62.5)
	Reproductive cancers	321 (61.4)
	Infertility	297 (56.8)
	Women have more serious complications than men	141 (27.0)
5.	Treatment of STIs		64.58±31.24
	Both partners need complete treatment	430 (82.2)
	A condom should be used during treatment	336 (64.2)
	Antibiotics can cure most bacterial STIs	313 (59.8)
	No specific treatment to cure viral STIs	272 (52.0)
	The overall score		54.83±20.04

Note: Bold numbers within parenthesis in column 3 are percentages of mothers who had a correct answer.

Table 2 Attitudes Toward STIs Among Syrian Refugee Mothers (N = 523)

No.	Items	M±SD
1.	If a woman suffers from STIs she should inform her partner or spouse	4.55±0.86
2.	If I notice symptoms of STIs in my partner, I will advise him to seek treatment immediately	4.54±0.87
3.	If I notice symptoms of STIs, I think I should seek treatment immediately	4.48±0.87
4.	Getting early medical care is the main key to prevent the harmful effects of STIs	4.30±1.00
5.	Poverty may force women to prostitution*	4.29±1.29
6.	In case of STIs, I take medication concurrently with my partner	4.28±1.03
7.	I feel screening for STIs before marriage is important	4.26±1.08
8.	If I had STIs, I would avoid exposing others during treatment	4.22±1.09
9.	I will avoid sexual contact anytime I think there is even a slight chance of getting STIs	4.21±1.08
10.	I always follow up with treatment after cure	4.01±1.13
11.	I will have less fear of STIs by receiving information about them	3.93±1.13
12.	In my opinion, I feel STIs can cause death if left untreated	3.79±1.30
13.	It is easy to use the STI prevention methods	3.78±1.22
14.	Women’s examination is a shame*	3.76±1.39
15.	I would dislike having to follow the medical steps for treating STIs*	3.48±1.33
16.	STIs cannot be treated and lasts for life*	3.04±1.33
17.	I do not think that STIs are serious because they are curable*	2.92±1.39
18.	I do not like to talk about STIs with my relatives/friends*	2.94±1.44
19.	I will not go to the doctor unless I am certain I have STIs*	2.81±1.41
20.	If both partners are suffering of STIs, there is no need to use a condom*	2.62±1.45
	Overall attitude	3.83±0.48

Note: *Reverse coded items.

Table 3 Independent Samples t-Test For Assessing Significant Differences Between Syrian Mothers’ Characteristics Regarding Their Spousal Acceptance To Use A Condom (N = 465)

Mother Characteristics	User (n = 116) M±SD	Non-user (n = 349) M±SD	t statistics	Cohen’s d
Knowledge about STIs	17.29±4.77	15.41±6.06	3.04**	0.34
Attitude toward STIs	79.56±8.57	75.57±9.85	4.18**	0.45
Monthly income	231.86±93.09	222.65±109.61	0.81	-
Length of marriage	8.53±5.38	7.40±5.12	2.03*	0.22
Maternal age	26.43±5.94	25.995±6.06	0.68	-
Spouse age	32.45±6.14	31.50±6.71	1.35	-
Number of children	3.45±1.90	3.21±1.80	1.22	-
The length of refuge in Jordan	5.37±1.05	4.91±1.25	3.58**	0.4

Notes: *P<0.05, **P<0.001.