Knowledge about sexually transmitted diseases in rural and periurban communities of the Asaro Valley of Eastern Highlands Province: the health education component of an STD study.

Community health education played a major role in a study of sexually transmitted diseases (STDs) and other reproductive tract infections which we conducted in rural and periurban communities of the Asaro Valley near Goroka in the Eastern Highlands Province of Papua New Guinea. We found that most women had little knowledge about STDs, which they often did not realize were sexually transmitted. Even major signs and symptoms were thought to be normal and many women had not sought treatment until irreversible damage was done. Knowledge of the complications of STDs, such as infertility and stillbirth, was also slight in these women. It is apparent that there is a desperate need for more reproductive health education at the community level. In developing our health education methods, we found that simple line drawings of male and female reproductive organs and of people with different signs of STDs proved useful. These were quick and easy to produce from readily available materials. It was important to separate men and women into different groups with educators of the same sex, and to create a very informal atmosphere, encouraging free-ranging discussion. Following health education and sensitive interviewing, almost all the women selected for the community-based study of the prevalence of reproductive tract infections consented to vaginal examination, even if they were asymptomatic. Additionally, many nonselected women requested examination.