Association Between a History of Sexually Transmitted Diseases and Reproductive Health Knowledge Among Adolescents of Peru: A Cross-Sectional Study

Highlights Public health relevance—How does this work relate to a public health issue? The persistent incidence of sexually transmitted infections (STIs) and teenage pregnancies represents a substantial public health burden in low- and middle-income countries, affecting the holistic development of young people. Knowledge gaps and a lack of preventive information are critical factors that perpetuate adolescents’ vulnerability to reproductive health risks. Public health significance—Why is this work of significance to public health? This study provides the first research in the Peruvian context to evaluate whether a prior negative health experience, such as an STI, influences knowledge acquisition and the adoption of protective behaviors in young people. The results reveal a critical and widespread confusion between the effectiveness of contraceptives in preventing pregnancy and their lack of ability to prevent infections, even in adolescents with a history of STIs. Public health implications—What are the key implications or messages for practitioners, policy makers and/or researchers in public health? Sexual education programs need to be redesigned to explicitly differentiate between pregnancy prevention and infection prevention, using distinct teaching modules, terminology, and visual materials for each objective. Healthcare professionals must move beyond merely providing informational counseling and adopt interventions that transform clinical diagnoses into lasting behavioral changes. Abstract Adolescents are prone to unwanted pregnancies and sexually transmitted infections. It is key that they receive reproductive sexual education during secondary education, which can be important for the prevention of these events. This study aims to compare knowledge of reproductive health between adolescents with and without STI history. A cross-sectional study was carried out on 164 schoolchildren from a national school in Lima (Peru). The AA-20 short questionnaire and the t-test were used to demonstrate differences between students with and without a history of sexually transmitted infections (STIs). Twenty-six (15.9%) students had STIs (mean age 16.6 ± 2.3 years). The average knowledge in students with and without STIs was 15.4 ± 3.7 points and 14.7 ± 3.9 points, respectively (p = 0.417). Among students with and without a previous STI, it was found that the majority used some form of contraception (61.5% vs. 31.9%, p = 0.004) and had received talks on the topic (92.3% vs. 72.5%, p = 0.031). Condom use was the most commonly used method to prevent STIs in both groups. In conclusion, students with a previous STI had slightly better knowledge about pregnancy and infections than students without a history.