Abeer Miri Abdullah (1), Rehab Lafta Mohammad (2)
Advances in reproductive technologies, such as non-invasive prenatal testing (NIPT) and preimplantation genetic diagnosis (PGD), now allow for highly accurate sex determination as early as seven weeks’ gestation (Bowman-Smart et al., 2020). Objective to evaluate the knowledge and awareness of nursing students at the University of Kufa regarding fetal sex selection, including both medical and non-medical methods, as well as the ethical implications involved. A descriptive cross-sectional study was conducted from November 2024 to March 2025, involving a total of 200 students from all four academic stages. A structured questionnaire was used to collect data on demographic variables, knowledge. The data were analyzed using SPSS version 26, with Chi-Square tests applied to identify statistically significant relationships. A total of 200 student participants were included in the study. The results, presented by age, gender, and academic stage groups, illustrate varying levels of knowledge across specific questions and help fulfill the study's objectives. These results revealed moderate levels of knowledge among students, with noticeable differences across gender, age, and academic stages. Female students demonstrated higher awareness levels (58% responded "I know") compared to males (50.75%). Third-stage students had the highest proportion of knowledge (57.14%). The analysis indicated that gender significantly influenced responses in 6 out of 18 questions, while academic stage showed significance in only 3 questions. Age was found to be a significant factor in just one question. Students demonstrated a moderate level of knowledge, with gender significantly influencing awareness and academic stage showing a moderate effect, while age had minimal impact. These results emphasize the need to strengthen nursing curricula to address knowledge gaps and promote ethical understanding of fetal sex selection. Further studies across various centers and hospitals with larger sample sizes are recommended to broaden insights while ensuring proper use of such knowledge.
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