A Survey of Knowledge of Sexually Transmitted Infections among Patients at a Public Hospital in Pulau Pinang, Malaysia

Objective: The aim of this study was to assess the patients’ knowledge and awareness of sexually transmitted infections (STIs). Subjects and Methods: A face-to-face interview was conducted among the patients visiting the Venereal Diseases Outpatient Department of the General Hospital of Pulau Pinang (Malaysia). A 19-item questionnaire was used. A total of 116 patients participated in the study and 107 patients had valid responses. The reliability and internal consistency of the questionnaire tool was estimated on the basis of Cronbach’s alpha (= 0.81). The Statistical Package for Social Sciences (SPSS 13.0®) was used for data analysis. Student’s t test and analysis of variance were used to analyse the knowledge differences among the groups. Results: Of the 107 patients, 82 (76.6%) were diagnosed with syphilis; AIDS was the most commonly known STI among the patients. Of the 107 patients, 35 were sexually active and of these 23 (65.7%) had more than 1 sexual partner. The most popular source of knowledge was newspapers (51 patients, 47.7%), with hospitals (3 patients, 2.8%) being the least popular one. Overall mean score on knowledge questions was 12.21 out of the maximum of 33 points. Knowledge about causative organisms, risk groups, transmission, symptoms, prevention and treatment of STIs was inadequate. The knowledge level was significantly related to gender (p = 0.03), religion (p = 0.005), educational level (p = 0.000), marital status (p = 0.000) and income level (p = 0.036). Conclusion: This study demonstrated evidence of poor knowledge of STIs amongst the patients attending an STI service in the General Hospital of Pulau Pinang (Malaysia). Hence there is an immediate need for efforts towards improving patient knowledge of STIs.