Knowledge, attitudes, and practices in reproductive and sexual health: Valle de los Chillos, Rumiñahui County, Province of Pichincha, Ecuador

To help support and direct the Lions Club's construction of a Community Health Clinic specializing in Reproductive and Sexual Health, this descriptive study began in November of 2004 and was completed in May 2005. The sample consists of 552 high school students in Rumiñahui County, and surveys were used to study four principle themes: reproductive and sexual health education, family planning, sexually transmitted infections, and domestic violence. The results show a widespread lack of accurate and adequate information about reproductive and sexual health. Statistically significant variables studied include sex, age, monthly income, and age of first sexual experience. Female sex, younger age, lower monthly income, and younger age of first sexual experience all contribute to a lower quality of reproductive and sexual health, in terms of having less information about and access to these four aspects of reproductive and sexual health.