EFFECTIVENESS OF MODULE BASED TEACHING ON KNOWLEDGE AND PERCEPTION OF CONSANGUINEOUS MARRIAGES AND ITS ASSOCIATION WITH REPRODUCTIVE HEALTH OUTCOMES AMONG PRE-UNIVERSITY STUDENTS IN NORTH KARNATAKA, INDIA

Abstract

Primary Objective: To assess the Knowledge and Perception of consanguineous marriages and its association with Reproductive health outcomes among Pre-University Students Design: Single group pre-post study. Setting: Selected Pre university colleges in north Karnataka, India Participants: P.U II year arts and commerce College students Methods: Participants completed a 40 items questionnaire with using a 5 point Likert scale to assess their knowledge and perceptions. The questionnaire included items related to consanguineous marriages and their association with Reproductive health outcomes.  Descriptive and inferential statistics were used to describe the knowledge and perceptions of students. Measures such as mean, median, mode, standard deviation, percentages were calculated. additionally chi square tests, Pearson’s coefficient and fisher’s exact tests were applied to assess correlations between variables. Results: Among 100 participants 89 % (n=89) demonstrated poor level of knowledge, while a smaller proportion 11% (n= 11) had an average level of knowledge with none exhibited good knowledge. Regarding perceptions most participants 95 % (n=95) reported a negative perceptions, whereas only 5% had a neutral perception and none expressed positive perception. Furthermore no statistically significant correlation was observed between student’s knowledge levels and their perceptions of consanguineous marriages, nor with their perceived association with Reproductive health outcomes. Conclusions: These results highlight a substantial gap in awareness and understanding, suggesting the need for targeted educational interventions to improve both knowledge and perceptions among students. Enhancing awareness may contribute to more informed attitudes and potentially better reproductive health decisions in future.