The sexual behaviors of young Polish women and their knowledge about contraception

Introduction. With the increasing trend of early sexual activity among adolescents, contraception has become a crucial topic. Poland ranks last in the Contraceptive Atlas, as the country with the poorest access to contraception methods and information. This results in a low level of contraceptive knowledge among young people, leading to unintended pregnancies and sexually transmitted infections. Adequate sexual education is a key element in promoting sexual health, enabling informed contraceptive choices based on medical knowledge. The responsibility for sexual education lies not only with parents but also with educators, pedagogues, doctors, and governmental bodies. Aim. To assess knowledge about contraception and investigate the sexual behaviors of women aged 15-25, comparing the results with available literature and indicating possible preventive actions in the studied area. Material and methods. An anonymous electronic survey was conducted among women aged 15-25 from across Poland. The survey was distributed on various internet groups, primarily comprising students. It included closed-ended questions verifying knowledge of the topic under study and a demographic section. Statistical analysis of the data was performed using Statistica and Microsoft Excel. Results. The average age of sexual initiation among respondents was 17.84±1.96 years, with one-third of them yet to engage in sexual activity. The majority of respondents (58%) had 1 to 3 sexual partners, and with increasing age and education level, the percentage of those with a higher number of sexual partners increased. The most popular contraceptive methods among respondents were barrier methods, combined oral contraceptive pills, and a combination of barrier and hormonal methods. The main sources of contraceptive information for the respondents were the internet, gynecologists, and scientific literature. Almost all respondents were aware of the definition of contraception, but only half were aware of the Pearl Index. Less than half of the respondents could identify the most effective contraceptive method, while almost all correctly identified the least effective method. The knowledge of the majority of respondents was assessed as moderate, good, or very good. Conclusions. Despite the generally good knowledge of contraception among the majority of respondents, there are still gaps that need to be filled. Due to the progressively decreasing age of sexual initiation, education on contraception is a priority that will help reduce the number of unintended pregnancies and sexually transmitted diseases in the future.