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ORIGINAL RESEARCH article

Front. Public Health
Sec. Public Health Education and Promotion
Volume 12 - 2024 | doi: 10.3389/fpubh.2024.1407070
This article is part of the Research Topic Public Health Promotion and Medical Education Reform, Volume III View all 15 articles

Exploring psychosocial factors influencing sexually transmitted infection intention testing among medical students: A cross-sectional study in two Universities

Provisionally accepted
Valentina Loaiza-Guevara Valentina Loaiza-Guevara 1María A. Gómez Acosta María A. Gómez Acosta 1Angie V. Aguirre Álvarez Angie V. Aguirre Álvarez 1Valentina Agudelo Martínez Valentina Agudelo Martínez 1María C. Montes Montoya María C. Montes Montoya 2Alexandra Agudelo Ramírez Alexandra Agudelo Ramírez 2Juan S. Izquierdo-Condoy Juan S. Izquierdo-Condoy 3*
  • 1 Facultad de Medicina, Fundacion Universitaria Autónoma de las Américas, Pereira, Risaralda, Colombia
  • 2 Autonomous University Foundation of the Americas, Pereira, Risaralda, Colombia
  • 3 University of the Americas, Quito, Ecuador

The final, formatted version of the article will be published soon.

    Background: Despite the significant global burden of sexually transmitted infections (STI), detection rates are poor. Acceptance of these tests is influenced by several factors that have not been explored among Colombian medical students.The aim of this study was to describe the behaviors and psychosocial factors towards STI screening among medical students of two universities in Pereira, Colombia, between March and June 2020.Methods: An observational, cross-sectional study was conducted with 284 medical students in the first three years of undergraduate at two universities. An online, self-administered survey was conducted between March 2020 and June 2020, using an instrument from the "STI Testing Questionnaire," to assess behaviors and psychosocial factors towards STI testing. Frequencies and percentages were used for descriptive analysis. The association between characteristics and psychosocial factors with STI testing intention was obtained using a logistic regression model. A p-value < 0.05 was accepted as statistically significant for all analyses.Results: A total of 284 medical students participated in this study. The majority were female (56.7%), and 53.2% were from private universities. Eighty-four point five percent (84.5%) had risky sexual behaviors, and only 32.4% reported intentions to be tested for STIs. Among the psychosocial factors, 64.1% reported high social pressure, and 43.0% reported social fear. An association with the intention to undergo STI testing was identified in those who had been previously tested (OR=2.486; 95% CI: 1.492 -4.142) and in those who engaged in risky sexual behaviors (OR=3.537; 95% CI: 1.437 -8.704).Conclusions: Medical students exhibit a high prevalence of risky sexual behaviors but show a disturbing lack of intention to undergo STI screening. Prior experiences significantly influence screening intentions, while social pressure and fear also play a role. These insights can serve as a basis for targeted interventions to improve STI screening rates and enhance sexual health education among Colombian medical students.

    Keywords: perceptions1, previous experiences2, psychosocial factors3, sexually transmitted infections4, medical students5

    Received: 26 Mar 2024; Accepted: 10 Sep 2024.

    Copyright: © 2024 Loaiza-Guevara, Gómez Acosta, Aguirre Álvarez, Agudelo Martínez, Montes Montoya, Agudelo Ramírez and Izquierdo-Condoy. This is an open-access article distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution License (CC BY). The use, distribution or reproduction in other forums is permitted, provided the original author(s) or licensor are credited and that the original publication in this journal is cited, in accordance with accepted academic practice. No use, distribution or reproduction is permitted which does not comply with these terms.

    * Correspondence: Juan S. Izquierdo-Condoy, University of the Americas, Quito, Ecuador

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