title: Reproductive health awareness among educated young women in Egypt.
abstract: OBJECTIVE
  To assess the awareness of female Egyptian university students regarding reproductive health (RH) issues, and determine the factors contributing to the students' awareness.
  
  
  METHODS
  A cross-sectional survey was conducted, in which 220 female Egyptian university students selected by purposive random sampling were interviewed by means of an in-depth questionnaire. The interviews were private and confidential, and the questions concerned female reproductive anatomy and physiology; sexually transmitted diseases and HIV/AIDS; personal preferences, such as age of marriage and spacing between pregnancies; and where young women can access RH care.
  
  
  RESULTS
  A large proportion of the participants exhibited misunderstanding or a complete lack of knowledge about important RH issues. This overall result, which was determined to be attributable to age and sociocultural factors such as education level, comes as a source of concern for both health service providers and policy makers.
  
  
  CONCLUSIONS
  Awareness of RH is poor in Egypt, even among young women attending institutions of higher education. The present study not only highlights the persistent need for the ongoing RH information programs, but may also provide policy makers with data that will inform new strategies.
authors.affiliation: Department of Obstetrics and Gynecology, Faculty of Medicine, El Minya University, Minya, Egypt. saad.elgelany@yahoo.co.uk
authors.forename: Saad
authors.initials: S
authors.lastname: El Gelany
authors.forename: Ola
authors.initials: O
authors.lastname: Moussa
mesh_terms: D000293:Adolescent; D001294:Attitude to Health; D003430:Cross-Sectional Studies; D004534:Egypt; D005260:Female; D007722:Health Knowledge, Attitudes, Practice; D006801:Humans; D012098:Reproduction; D043762:Reproductive Behavior / Q000706:statistics & numerical data*; D060728:Reproductive Health; D012749:Sexually Transmitted Diseases / Q000523:psychology; D013334:Students / Q000706:statistics & numerical data; D011795:Surveys and Questionnaires; D014495:Universities; D055815:Young Adult