Conhecimentos e comportamentos de universitários sobre a prevenção de infecções sexualmente transmissíveis: estudo de método misto

Abstract

This study aimed to analyze the knowledge and sexual practices of university students on the prevention of Sexually Transmitted Infections (STIs) from a cross-cultural and health perspective and used a mixed method design, of the concomitant incorporated type. Research carried out in two universities in Rio de Janeiro, in which sexually active young university students (n=1,256) aged between 18 and 29 (quantitative stage) and 57 (qualitative stage) participated. Two instruments were used for data collection, a questionnaire with open and closed questions for sociodemographic characterization; knowledge profile about STIs, sexual practices and prevention and a roadmap for focus groups addressing sexual practices and STI prevention. Data collection took place from 2016 to 2018, on university campuses. Quantitative data were organized in an Excel 2016 spreadsheet, and the analyzes were performed using the Statistical Package for the Social Sciences software. Univariate and bivariate descriptive analyses, nonparametric tests (ANOVA for nominal and ordinal variables, Pearson's chi-square test and hypothesis test) were applied. The discursive data were organized and analyzed using the software Interface de R Pour les Analyzes Multidimensionnelles de Textes et de Questionnaires. All ethical and legal aspects of research involving human beings were respected. In the findings, it was found that most students were men (52.6%); age between 18 and 24 years (82.7%); white skin color (51.4%); single (52.08%); heterosexuals (84.9%); lived with their parents (70.85%); did not work (57.96%) and considered themselves religious practitioners (62%). The degree of knowledge of university students in relation to STIs and their preventive strategies was not significant in relation to social markers. It was noticed in the findings that university students possess information on the subject, however, this information does not become useful knowledge capable of modifying their sexual practices, permeated by multiple contexts of vulnerability and adoption of Risky Sexual Behaviors. When identifying educational strategies for the prevention of STIs for university students, from the transcultural perspective of Madeleine Leininger, it is emphasized that these proposals must be problematized, contextualized and congruent with the group's sexual and reproductive health demands. Educational actions must be made possible through a partnership between Higher Education Institutions and Primary Care nurses with an inclusive focus from the perspective of the students themselves, valuing their knowledge, experiences and social indicators and, with the possibility of including parents, family members and partners (as) sexual. The unsafe sexual behaviors adopted by university students were associated with the social markers of the group, evidencing that these influence the sexual behaviors adopted by these students in an intersectional and transcultural way.