Knowledge and Attitudes of Secondary Schools ‎students Towards Premarital Screening and Counseling in Taiz, Yemen.

Abstract

Background: Premarital screening and counseling (PMCS) is a preventive measure for genetic, infectious, and blood-transmitted diseases. This study aimed to assess secondary school students' knowledge of and attitudes towards PMCS in Taiz City, Yemen.

Methods: This study included 306 secondary school students selected through stratified random sampling from six secondary schools representing three directorates in Taiz city, Yemen. Researchers used two validated tools, students' knowledge and attitudes about the PMCS which were adopted from previous studies, to collect the necessary data. The data were analyzed using the SPSS software. Descriptive analysis was conducted for frequencies and percentages while chi square test was used to identify the relationships between the demographics and knowledge level.

Results: Most of the students had a weak knowledge of 58.82%, while 40.52% showed fair understanding. The majority of students (79.09%) displayed a positive attitude towards PMCS, among the students with a positive attitude, 36.93% had fair knowledge, whereas 41.5% of the students had weak knowledge.

Conclusion: The study concluded that secondary school students in Taiz lack knowledge and have positive attitudes towards various aspects of premarital screening and counseling. Knowledge deficits were linked to male students, younger academic years, non-engagement, and family history of disease.