Ukrainian medical students' experiences, attitudes, and knowledge about reproductive health

In a 1999 classroom survey of sexual behavior among 689 1st-year medical st udents at Donetsk State Medical University, Ukraine, 59% of the women and 8 3% of the men revealed they had "ever" had sexual intercourse. The mean age of first intercourse was 15.7 years for the men and 16.6 years for the wom en. Thirty-two percent of the students reported they did not use contracept ives at their first intercourse, and 19% said they used no contraceptives a t their most recent coitus. Condoms were the most frequent means of contrac eption, followed by coitus interruptus. Less than 5% used oral contraceptiv es, and 73% of students reported being afraid to use them. About 6% of the students reported they had had sexually transmitted infections (STI) and 10 % had had an abortion. Improving knowledge concerning unwanted pregnancies and STI among Ukraine's future health providers may contribute to improving reproductive health issues in general in Ukraine.