Despite being part of one of the few remaining primitive areas of the world, both Sabah and Sarawak are provided with adequate, though simple, urban and rural general medical services. At present no reliable data on the incidence of sexually transmitted diseases in these areas have been collected and no organised treatment services are available. Gonorrhoea appears to be the commonest notifiable infectious disease in Sarawak, and beta-lactamase-producing strains have been isolated. Because of the rapidly expanding economy and the encouragement of the tourist trade, sexually transmitted disease is likely to prove an increasing problem, for which a specialised service for diagnosis and treatment is badly needed.
This study examines the knowledge of sexually transmitted diseases (STDs) among male youths in Malaysia. A self-administered survey was carried out on a sample of 952 never-married males aged 15-24 years. The respondents were asked about their knowledge of STDs, how these diseases get transmitted and their sexual behaviours. The data showed that 92% of the respondents knew of at least one STD (syphilis, gonorrhoea, chlamydia, herpes, genital warts, yeast infection, trichomoniasis or HIV/AIDS). About 95% of them knew of at least one method of STD transmission. Urban and tertiary-educated male youths showed a substantially higher proportion of awareness of STDs and transmission methods compared with their rural and less-educated counterparts. The data also indicated that 10% of the study sample admitted to having had sexual experiences. There were still a large proportion of the respondents who were not aware of STDs other than syphilis and HIV/AIDS and the means of transmission, such as multiple sex partners, including those who claimed to be sexually active. Thus there is a need for more concerted efforts to disseminate information on STDs and transmission methods to a wider audience in Malaysia, especially youths in rural areas.
PURPOSE: To examine differences between Australian-born and Asian-born first-year university students in Sydney in their sexual behavior and knowledge about the prevention and transmission of human immunodeficiency virus (HIV) and other sexually transmissible infections (STIs).
METHODS: Students were recruited from a stall during the student Orientation Week in both 2002 and 2003 at the University of New South Wales. A short questionnaire was completed and returned anonymously. Data on age, gender, country of birth, sexual behavior, and sexual health knowledge were collected. A score was calculated based on the sum of the correct answers given to 12 HIV/STI transmission and prevention questions. The students were then divided into three groups according to their country of birth (Australia, Asia, and elsewhere) and their knowledge scores were compared. Students born in certain Asian countries were also asked their perception of the HIV epidemic in their home country compared with Australia.
RESULTS: A total of 1185 first-year students completed the questionnaire. Although older on average, Asian-born students were less likely to have had sexual intercourse and had had fewer sexual partners. They also had consistently poorer HIV/STI knowledge scores than Australian-born students. Students born in China, Hong Kong, Indonesia, Malaysia, and Singapore but not Thailand underestimated the prevalence of HIV in their country of birth in comparison with Australia.
CONCLUSION: The combination of poorer knowledge, apparent misconception of the extent of HIV epidemic in their home country (or Australia), and potential later frequent travel indicates a potential risk for later transmission of HIV/STIs. The university is an underused setting for prevention health education.
Sexually transmitted infections (STIs) have plagued humans for millennia and can result in chronic disease, pregnancy complications, infertility, and even death. Recent technological advances have led to a better understanding of the causative agents for these infections as well as aspects of their pathogenesis that might represent novel therapeutic targets. The articles in this Review Series provide excellent updates on the recent advances in understanding of the pathogenesis of some very important and persistent STIs and discuss the importance of considering each pathogen in the broader context of the environment of the individual who it infects.
The aim of this study was to assess the knowledge of East Malaysian adolescents on sexual and reproductive health issues. Data were collected in March-July 2015 from 2858 adolescents aged 13-18 years from selected East Malaysian secondary schools using a self-administered questionnaire. Twelve items relating to sexual and reproductive health were used to measure respondents' knowledge based on their responses 'True', 'False' or 'Don't know', with the proportion of correct answers being the variable of interest. Cronbach's alpha for the twelve items was 0.761 and the mean knowledge score was 6.8. While the majority of the respondents knew that a woman can get pregnant if she has sex with a man and that HIV and AIDS can be transmitted through sexual intercourse, knowledge about Malaysia's abortion laws, that a woman can get pregnant if she has sex only once and that people with sexually transmitted infections may look healthy was poor. Older respondents and those from urban schools reported significantly higher knowledge than younger respondents and those from rural schools, respectively. More emphasis should be given in schools to the specific topics for which low levels of sexual and reproductive health knowledge were found, with greater attention being given to younger adolescents and those in rural areas.