Reproductive health and HIV awareness among newly married Egyptian couples without formal education

Abstract

Objective: To assess awareness of several reproductive health and HIV issues and to determine the sources of reproductive health knowledge.

Methods: A cross-sectional survey of 150 randomly recruited, newly married couples without formal education attending gynecology or andrology outpatient clinics in Cairo, Egypt, was conducted from January 2012 to January 2013. Participants were interviewed separately and asked to respond to a semi-structured questionnaire on reproductive health and HIV awareness.

Results: Most participants had not received premarital counseling or undergone premarital testing. Awareness about HIV was relatively high: 117 (78.0%) women and 128 (85.3%) men had heard of HIV and had some awareness of the modes of HIV transmission. Only 24 (16.0%) women had ever used a condom compared with 36 (24.0%) men. Only two men out of the 150 couples questioned were aware of the free HIV hotline. Television and friends were the main sources of reproductive health knowledge.

Conclusion: Routine premarital counseling and testing by reproductive health, gynecology, and andrology specialists need to be enforced. Mass media is an essential source of knowledge about HIV and reproductive health. Premarital, reproductive health, and HIV education programs need to be improved.

Keywords: Awareness; Egypt; HIV; Newly married; Premarital counseling; Premarital testing; Reproductive health.