To assess the level of awareness of pre-marital sexually transmitted diseases (STDs) screening between medical and non-medical students in Karachi, Pakistan

Background: Sexually transmitted diseases (STDs) can be transmitted by blood, sexual intercourse and body fluids. Marrying a carrier of these illnesses places the spouse and their baby at risk of acquiring infection. The risk of HIV spread has increased ten times in the existence of untreated STDs. Premarital blood screening is vital concern against STDs for students. Objective: To assess the level of awareness of pre9marital sexually transmitted diseases screening between medical and non9medical students in Karachi, Pakistan. Material and Methods: This was a cross9sectional study conducted by questionnaire method in 500 students (250 medical, 250 non9medicals) of aged between 18 – 25 years from different institutes of Karachi. Purposive sampling technique was conducted. Sample size calculation was done using the W.H.O. software where α=5%, 19β =90, Po=0.56, Pa=0.49, n (sample size)=434. The researcher recruited 500 subjects to avoid the chances of type ii error. Questionnaire comprised of close ended questions, which enquired about the definition of STDs, content, nature and awareness of STDs, perception of the application of pre9marital STDs screening in Karachi, knowledge of STDs and the remaining questions were related to screening issues. The study design was cross sectional and sampling technique was purposive sampling. Continuous variable was presented as mean ± standard deviation and categorical variables were presented as