IMPACT OF HEALTH LITERACY AND SEXUAL BEHAVIOUR ON UNPLANNED PREGNANCY AND ABORTION

<p class="cvGsUA direction-ltr align-justify para-style-body" style="text-align: justify;"><span class="a_GcMg font-feature-liga-off font-feature-clig-off font-feature-calt-off text-decoration-none text-strikethrough-none">It has been proven that health education is directly related to numerous decisions of young people regarding their reproductive health and sexual behavior. The aim of this paper is to evaluate the impact of health literacy and sexual behavior on the occurrence of unplanned pregnancies and abortions among young girls. </span><span class="a_GcMg font-feature-liga-off font-feature-clig-off font-feature-calt-off text-decoration-none text-strikethrough-none">We used STOFHLA to assess the health literacy level of young females and a questionnaire to collect socio-demographic characteristics of respondents and their behavior in the area of reproductive health. Descriptive statistics were presented in percentages, and a chi-square test was performed to assess the existence of correlation between categorical variables using SPSS. A total of 220 female respondents were included. The levels of health literacy were as follows: adequate literacy was observed in 78.2% of participants, marginal literacy in 15.9%, and inadequate literacy in 5.9%. Unplanned pregnancies occurred in 7.3%, and all respondents had an abortion. The chi-square test confirmed the existence of a connection between health literacy and unplanned pregnancies, abortions, and the age of the respondents. </span><span class="a_GcMg font-feature-liga-off font-feature-clig-off font-feature-calt-off text-decoration-none text-strikethrough-none">The frequency of sexual intercourse and the use of contraceptives showed a statistical association with unplanned pregnancy/abortion. </span><span class="a_GcMg font-feature-liga-off font-feature-clig-off font-feature-calt-off text-decoration-none text-strikethrough-none">Education of young people about sexual behavior needs to be an imperative of health institutions, and it is necessary to carry out more effective education at elementary school and high school. Good health literacy is a prerequisite for good reproductive knowledge.</span></p>