title: [Reproductive health survey of young adults in greater Santiago].
abstract: In 1988 a survey was carried out in order to obtain information on knowledge about reproduction, sexual activity, attitudes, and use of contraceptive methods among residents between 15 and 24 years of age in Greater Santiago. For this purpose, a multistage, self-weighted, non-replacement probability sample was chosen from the entire Santiago urban area. After 2,898 households were visited, 865 women and 800 men were selected and interviewed. For the interview, a questionnaire with 156 questions was developed; many questions were similar to those included in similar surveys in Brazil and Guatemala. The interviewers were professionals who had received prior training. Although 75% of the interviewees had attended sex education classes, they had erroneous ideas on various basic subjects. Sixty-nine percent of the women interviewed had undergone menarche before attending these classes. In addition, 35.4% of the women and 65.0% of the men had had sexual relations prior to marriage, and less than 20% had used any contraceptive method. More than 60% of the interviewees who had children had conceived them before marrying. These findings point up the necessity of offering sex education classes for children and young people, as well as facilitating their access to family planning services, in order to decrease the number of illegitimate and unwanted children that are born in Chile.
authors.affiliation: Universidad de Chile, Facultad de Medicina, División de Ciencias Médicas Occidente, Santiago.
authors.forename: M S
authors.initials: MS
authors.lastname: Valenzuela
authors.forename: J M
authors.initials: JM
authors.lastname: Herold
authors.forename: L
authors.initials: L
authors.lastname: Morris
authors.forename: I M
authors.initials: IM
authors.lastname: López
mesh_terms: D000163:Acquired Immunodeficiency Syndrome / Q000453:epidemiology / Q000635:transmission; D000293:Adolescent; D000328:Adult; D001294:Attitude to Health; D002677:Chile / Q000453:epidemiology; D003267:Contraception / Q000706:statistics & numerical data; D005260:Female; D005783:Gender Identity; D006306:Health Surveys; D006801:Humans; D007086:Illegitimacy / Q000706:statistics & numerical data; D008297:Male; D011247:Pregnancy; D011253:Pregnancy in Adolescence / Q000706:statistics & numerical data*; D012736:Sex Education; D012725:Sexual Behavior / Q000706:statistics & numerical data*; D012741:Sexual Maturation; D012749:Sexually Transmitted Diseases / Q000453:epidemiology; D012940:Social Problems; D014505:Urban Population
vernacular_title: Encuesta de salud reproductiva en adultos jóvenes del Gran Santiago.