Poor Awareness of Syphilis Prevention & Treatment Knowledge among Six Different Populations in South China
BACKGROUND:
China
is facing an emerging epidemic of syphilis, and the cities in south China are
most affected. Knowledge is a key factor in the prevention of syphilis
infection, however, little is reported about how much people know about syphilis.
This study was aimed at assessing peoples' awareness status in a city located
in south China.
METHODS:
Six
populations were recruited for this study, including urban residents, factory
workers, college students, pregnant women, female sex workers (FSWs), and men
who have sex with men (MSM). A questionnaire designed by the National Center
for Disease Control and Prevention was used to assess participants' awareness
of syphilis knowledge. About 5 % of participants were randomly selected to
conduct a telephone survey for confirming the validity of fieldwork.
RESULTS:
The study
recruited 3470 participants, and 61.2 % of participants were assigned to
the awareness group. College students had the smallest percentage of awareness
at 51.7 % (371/718), followed by FSWs at 53.9 % (200/371), factory
workers at 56.0 % (381/679), urban residents at 65.4 % (435/665),
pregnant women at 66.0 % (451/683), and MSM at 81.1 % (287/354).
Multivariate logistic regression analysis showed that MSM and FSWs-but not
factory workers and pregnant women-had more awareness of syphilis knowledge
when comparing with urban residents; however, college students presented less
awareness of syphilis knowledge than urban residents. Participants of younger
age, of female gender, with lower education levels and without Shenzhen hukou
possessed less awareness of syphilis knowledge than those of older age, of male
gender, with higher education levels and with Shenzhen hukou respectively.
CONCLUSIONS:
The
percentages of awareness on syphilis knowledge found in this study are far from
the benchmark set in the national 10-year plan. Tailored interventions for
different subgroups to increase syphilis awareness are urgently warranted.
- 1Department of STD control and prevention, Shenzhen Center for Chronic Disease Control, No. 2021, Buxin Road, Luohu District, Shenzhen City, Guangdong Province, P.R. China.
- 2Department of STD control and prevention, Shenzhen Center for Chronic Disease Control, No. 2021, Buxin Road, Luohu District, Shenzhen City, Guangdong Province, P.R. China. hfc0755@sina.com.
- BMC Public Health. 2016 Mar 28;16(1):287. doi: 10.1186/s12889-016-2966-4.
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