title: Sexual and Reproductive Health Knowledge Among Men and Women Aged 15 to 49 Years in Metropolitan Tehran.
abstract: Sexual and reproductive health (SRH) knowledge is an important predictor of an individual's sexual behavior; however, little is known regarding this issue among Iranians. This study assessed sexual and reproductive health knowledge among men and women aged 15 to 49 years in Tehran. A total of 755 men and women aged 15 to 49 years were recruited using multistage, random cluster sampling in June 2014. An illustrative anonymous questionnaire endorsed by the World Health Organization (WHO) was used to collect the data. Bivariate and multivariate analyses were performed. The results showed that men and women were moderately knowledgeable about sexual and reproductive health (mean score of SRH knowledge = 39, range: 26 to 52); however, myths and misperceptions prevailed in different aspects of SRH. For example, only 45% of women and 38.7% of men accurately knew that a person infected with human immunodeficiency virus (HIV) can look healthy. Friends were identified as the primary or secondary source of knowledge about puberty and sex-related issues. A multivariate analysis showed that being female (coefficient = 0.139, p < 0.001) and being married (coefficient = 0.180, p < 0.001) were significant predictors of better SRH knowledge, while being young (age group 15 to 24) was a significant determinant of poor SRH knowledge (coefficient = -0.161, p < 0.001) when other influencing factors were controlled. Culturally appropriate and age-specific comprehensive education is recommended, particularly for men, the unmarried, and the younger generation in Iran.
authors.affiliation: a Institute of Tropical Medicine and International Health at Charité , Universitätsmedizin Berlin.
authors.forename: Shahrzad
authors.initials: S
authors.lastname: Rahimi-Naghani
authors.affiliation: b Iranian Center for Addiction Studies, Institution of Risk Behaviour Reduction , Tehran University of Medical Sciences.|c Community-Based Participatory Research Center, Institution of Risk Behaviour Reduction , Tehran University of Medical Sciences.
authors.forename: Effat
authors.initials: E
authors.lastname: Merghati-Khoei
authors.affiliation: d School of Public Health , Jackson State University.
authors.forename: Mohammad
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Shahbazi
authors.affiliation: e National Institute of Population Research , Tehran.
authors.forename: Farideh
authors.initials: F
authors.lastname: Khalajabadi Farahani
authors.affiliation: f Student Research Center, School of Nursing and Midwifery , Isfahan University of Medical Sciences.
authors.forename: Mahnaz
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Motamedi
authors.affiliation: g Department of Psychiatry , Isfahan University of Medical Sciences.
authors.forename: Mehrdad
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Salehi
authors.affiliation: h Department of Epidemiology and Biostatistics, School of Public Health , Tehran University of Medical Sciences.
authors.forename: Mehrdad
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Karimi
authors.affiliation: i Mental Health Research Center, Tehran Institute of Psychiatry, School of Behavioral Sciences and Mental Health , Iran University of Medical Sciences.
authors.forename: Ahmad
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Hajebi
mesh_terms: D000293:Adolescent; D000328:Adult; D005260:Female; D007722:Health Knowledge, Attitudes, Practice / Q000208:ethnology*; D006801:Humans; D007492:Iran / Q000208:ethnology; D008297:Male; D008875:Middle Aged; D060728:Reproductive Health / Q000208:ethnology*; D055815:Young Adult