Beliefs, perceptions and behavior of university nursing students concerning sexually transmitted diseases

OBJECTIVE To investigate the beliefs, perceptions and behavior of university nursing students related to sexually transmitted diseases (STDs) and whether they are different in the first year and the senior year. METHOD A cross-sectional survey was conducted with 178 first year and senior year nursing students, using a structured, self-administered questionnaire. RESULTS The beliefs of the first year and senior year students about STDs and condom use did not differ substantially. Reported perception of personal STDs risk was low, and perception of self-efficacy was high, while perception of STDs severity was high. Both the senior and the first year students, however, reported a high rate of unsafe sexual behavior, such as inconsistent condom use and multiple partners. Their low perceived susceptibility appears to encourage high risk sexual behavior, despite the significant perceived severity of STDs. Although they believe that condom use is highly effective for the prevention of STDs and pregnancy, they are not consistent in their use. The most common reasons given by the nursing students for failure to use a condom were monogamy and trust in the sexual partner. A high perception of self-efficacy appears to be related to increased consistency in condom use. An increase in perceived susceptibility was associated with reporting having more than 3 sexual partners. CONCLUSIONS The sexual behavior of the nursing students appears to be affected by their beliefs and their perceived self-efficacy. The students' beliefs and perceptions do not change during their studies. These data underline the necessity for expansion, design and application of sex education programs in universities, for the reduction of high risk sexual behavior among the students.