School Sexual-Reproductive Health Education in South-West Romania

Sexual-reproductive health (SRH) education is necessary to reduce risk behaviors (unprotected sex) and to allow individuals to make informed decisions about this activity. In order to evaluate the SRH quality in south-western Romania, we are running a Grant (Project 72/2008), supported by CNCSIS-UEFISCSU. We interviewed 1,200 people equally distributed by gender, age groups, instruction level and residence area (urban/rural) about the information sources they have used when about sexual life, sexually transmitted diseases (STD) and pregnancy control. Only 14.9% (N = 179) of the respondents had sex education classes in school, especially in urban areas (p<0.001). The subjects indicate three major sources of information: friends (31.6%), internet and media (26.3%) and medical books (20%); physicians and nurses (11.6%), parents and relatives (11.2%) and school classes (8.8%) represent modest sources of information (significant differences urban vs. rural, p<0.001). Taking into consideration the gender, the results also show statistical differences (p<0.01) in using the information sources: women prefer parents and relatives, men prefer the Internet and mass media to learn about sexual life; women use medical information, while men ask their friends about pregnancy avoidance; the friends' role is double in men when learning about STD. The research demonstrates the urgent necessity to implement sex education programs in schools; these programs can have an important impact upon reducing sexual risk-taking behavior. Obviously, they do not represent a total solution to the problems of unprotected intercourse, but they can provide an effective component in a larger overall strategy to reduce pregnancy and STD.