Knowledge of Reproductive Health in Men on the Verge of Marriage

Abstract

Aim: The present study aimed to assess the knowledge of reproductive health in men on the verge of marriage. Background: Active involvement of men has many advantages and significant benefits for the health and development of their family. Objective: The present study aimed to find an answer to the question as to whether marriage counseling classes for couples on the verge of marriage can increase men's reproductive knowledge. To this end, the study was conducted on Iranian men. Methods: This research was an analytical cross-sectional study carried out on 205 subjects. After obtaining and filling out the written consent forms, the subjects consciously entered the research and answered the self-researcher-made questionnaire before and after participating in the formal counseling classes in Shahroud city, Iran. 19 questions were designed and ranked at three levels of poor, average (50% - 70%), and above 70% as good knowledge. The data were analysed by SPSS 18 using Wilcoxon sum-rank test and paired t-test. Results: The mean age of the samples was 24.3 ± 3.96 years old. 38.1% (72 subjects) of men had higher diploma education, and 2.6% (5 subjects) were illiterate. Before training, the mean of reproductive health knowledge was 6.62±3.14. After attending the premarital counselling class, the mean of reproductive health knowledge increased significantly (9.12±2.84, P=0.001). Conclusion: This study showed that current formal premarital reproductive health classes meet the needs of men's knowledge in the field of reproductive health, but it is recommended that the educational content of these classes should be improved. Considering the training needs of this group can be the first step for young couples in planning their family.