Table 2 Responses to the questions about STI knowledge among 1805 women aged 15–49 years in North rural Vietnam
From: Lack of knowledge about sexually transmitted infections among women in North rural Vietnam
Characteristics of abnormal vaginal discharge | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|
Correctly identifying | Unmarried % (n = 445) | Married % (n = 1360) | Total % (N = 1805) | P valuea |
Greater amount than usual | 12.1 | 28.9 | 24.8 | 0.000 |
Odour | 14.4 | 42.4 | 35.5 | 0.000 |
Changes of colour (yellow-green/powdery/foamy/blood-stained) | 4.7 | 24.0 | 19.2 | 0.000 |
Suspected symptoms | ||||
Abnormal vaginal discharge (in women) | 1.8 | 12.0 | 9.5 | 0.000 |
Urethral discharge (in men) | 0.2 | 1.6 | 1.3 | 0.023 |
Genital ulcers/genital warts | 2.9 | 9.3 | 7.8 | 0.000 |
Lower abdominal pain (not related to menses) | 0.2 | 4.7 | 3.6 | 0.000 |
Genital itching | 4.5 | 19.8 | 16.0 | 0.000 |
Dyspareunia/dysuria | 0.2 | 5.7 | 4.3 | 0.000 |
Possible "causes" of STI | ||||
Microorganisms (bacteria/virus) | 2.2 | 5.8 | 4.9 | 0.003 |
Being unfaithful/unsafe sex | 31.7 | 43.4 | 40.5 | 0.000 |
Unsafe blood transfusion/intravenous drug use | 11.2 | 14.8 | 13.9 | 0.061 |
STI can be transmitted | 62.0 | 81.2 | 76.5 | 0.000 |
Routes of transmission | ||||
Sexual intercourse | 56.9 | 78.7 | 73.3 | 0.000 |
Blood transfusion | 14.2 | 11.8 | 12.3 | 0.181 |
Sharing needle | 10.1 | 7.3 | 8.0 | 0.055 |
Mother to child | 8.1 | 5.7 | 6.3 | 0.076 |
Necessity of partner examination/treatment | 33.3 | 63.3 | 55.9 | 0.000 |
Complications of STI if untreated | ||||
Infertility | 14.6 | 20.2 | 18.8 | 0.008 |
Cervical cancer/ectopic pregnancy | 6.1 | 25.9 | 21.0 | 0.000 |
Adverse pregnancy outcome | 3.8 | 10.3 | 8.7 | 0.000 |
STI can be prevented | 44.9 | 71.3 | 64.8 | 0.000 |
Ways of STI prevention | ||||
Being faithful | 28.5 | 33.2 | 32.1 | 0.067 |
Using condom | 14.4 | 35.9 | 30.6 | 0.000 |
Avoid injecting illicit drugs | 7.2 | 3.6 | 4.5 | 0.001 |