Abstract
Background: A sexually transmitted infection is a pathogen that is transmitted through
sexual contact, whereas a sexually transmitted disease is an identifiable clinical
condition that results from an infection. Sexually transmitted infections (STIs) are a
worldwide public health concern affecting adolescents and young people. STIs include
a wide variety of infectious diseases spread through sexual contact. There are
currently four treatable infections: trichomoniasis, syphilis, gonorrhoea, and
chlamydia. The other four infections are viral and considered incurable: hepatitis B,
Herpes Simplex Virus (HSV), Human Immunodeficiency Virus (HIV), and Human
Papillomavirus (HPV).
STIs are among the top five illnesses treated at the Centre for Student Health and
Wellness (C-SHAW) at the university, where the study is conducted. Undergraduate
Students need to have adequate knowledge regarding sexually transmitted infections
to address identified knowledge gaps and prevent health problems and complications
caused by the STIs.
Research purpose: The purpose of this study was to determine and describe the
extent of knowledge of first-year undergraduate students about STIs at a university in
Gauteng, South Africa, and to provide recommendations to campus health staff
offering sexual health education programmes. These recommendations are intended
to inform undergraduate students at the University of Johannesburg.
Methodology: A quantitative, descriptive, and contextual research design was used,
along with a non-probability purposive sampling method. A simple random sampling
method was used to select the study's respondents, comprising 408 respondents.
Ethical clearance was obtained from the university's Higher Degrees Committee
(HDC) and the Research Ethics Committee (REC) prior to the commencement of data
collection. The researcher also adhered to the ethical principles of informed consent
and autonomy, beneficence, non-maleficence, and justice throughout the study. An
online self-report questionnaire was used to collect data; based on the sample size
calculator, the required sample size was 408. A total of 394 self-report questionnaires
were received. Of these, 352 questionnaires were fully completed, while 42 were
returned with incomplete information. Therefore, a total of 352 completed self-report...