An Assessment of Medical Students’ Level of Knowledge about Reproductive Health and Family Planning

Aim: This study aimed to assess 2nd and 5th grade medical students’ level of knowledge about reproductive health and family planning. Materials and Methods: We reached 121 (81.7%) of all 2nd graders and 88 (79.2%) of all 5th graders in a medical faculty in Istanbul, and a total of 209 students were included. Data were collected using a survey of 17 questions to assess sociodemographic characteristics as well as knowledge and attitudes about reproductive health and family planning. Results: The students were asked to define family planning, and 107 (88.4%) of the 2nd graders and 67 (76.1%) of the 5th graders answered “having as many children as the family can raise and care for” (p<0.05). The students were asked to self-assess their status of knowledge about family planning, and 51 (42.1%) of the 2nd graders and 64 (72.2%) of the 5th graders stated that they had sufficient knowledge about family planning methods. Condom as mentioned by 185 students (88.5%) was the best known method in both classes and spermicides the least (n=89, 42.6%). The least known sexually transmitted infection was Trichomonas vaginalis infection (n=106, 50.7%) and the best known was HIV infection (n=207, 99%). The students were also asked “Did you receive an adequate sexual health education in high school?”, and 102 (84.3%) of the 2nd graders and 78 (88.6%) of the 5th graders answered “No”. Discussion and Conclusion: We found that levels of knowledge about family planning methods, sexually transmitted diseases, and emergency contraception and emergency contraceptive methods differed among the surveyed 2nd and 5th grade medical student