Young adults knowledge regarding Sexually Transmitted Diseases (STDs) and condom use as a means of protection against STD

Ιntroduction: Sexually Transmitted Diseases prevention is a substantial component of sexual health education Aim : It is to investigate young adults’ knowledge on sexual health issue and STD prevention. Material and method: Α questionnaire with closed –type questions was used. 85 young volunteers adults attending a private gym center in a provincial town were enrolled in the study. Results: The research showed that fifty-nine persons were women (69.4%) and 26 persons were men (30.6%). 55.2% reported they were in a permanent relation or were married. One out of five reported no condom use or use it in less than half times.39% did not know that B and C hepatitis belong to STD, while 93% knew that AIDS is an STD. Men more frequently had sexual intercourse without condom, experience sexual partners changing and “one night stands”. Age was found negatively related to condom use frequency. Conclusion: a considerable percentage of young adults do not use condom during sexual intercourse, while men exhibit less safe sexual behavior in comparison with women. A discrepancy is noted between level of knowledge about STD and sexual behavior of young adults. This fact poses a question about success of the existing STD prevention programs.