ORIGINAL RESEARCH article
Front. Public Health
Sec. Public Health Education and Promotion
Volume 13 - 2025 | doi: 10.3389/fpubh.2025.1627669
This article is part of the Research TopicNudge Theory: Advancing Health Promotion and Disease PreventionView all articles
Factors Influencing Reproductive Health and Health Education Participation Among Female College Students in China
Provisionally accepted
- 1Xiamen Donghai Institute, Xiamen, China
- 2Yonsei University, Seoul, Republic of Korea
- 3Adventist University of the Philippines, Cavite, Philippines
- 4Qingdao Public Health Clinical Center, Qingdao, China
- 5Pingshan District Central Hospital, Shenzhen, China
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Purpose: To investigate sociodemographic determinants of reproductive health disparities and health education participation among Chinese female college students (CFCs). Methods: A nationally representative sample of 1,013 students from 12 provinces (October to November 2024) completed validated questionnaires. Multilevel logistic regression analyzed clustered data (school-level ICC=0.19). Results: Significant associations were observed between sociodemographic factors education level, household registration, only child status, academic major and reproductive health outcomes (P <0.05). Key findings include pronounced urban-rural inequities, with urban students demonstrating 4.3-fold higher HPV vaccination rates than rural peers (78.5% vs. 45.7%; aOR=4.3, 95% CI: 3.2–5.8), alongside elevated dysmenorrhea prevalence among rural students (56.9% vs. 43.5%; aOR=1.8, 95% CI: 1.4–2.3). Academic stressors significantly impacted health outcomes, as postgraduate students exhibited a 60% higher dysmenorrhea risk versus undergraduates (60.9% vs. 50.8%; aOR=1.6, 95% CI: 1.2–2.1), while paradoxically, medical students showed lower HPV vaccination uptake than nonmedical peers (58.0% vs. 74.3%; aOR=2.1), attributed to clinical skepticism about vaccine safety. Furthermore, health education engagement was limited (46.1% participation), with 52.4% relying on online platforms for health information—highlighting critical gaps in institutional health promotion and digital misinformation risks. Therefore, addressing these multifaceted socioeconomic, educational, and structural barriers is essential for improving reproductive health equity in this population. Conclusion: Multifaceted strategies addressing socioeconomic barriers, health education gaps, and digital misinformation are critical to improving reproductive health in female college students.
Keywords: Reproductive Health, Health Education, HPV vaccine hesitancy, Sociodemographic determinants, Chinese female college students
Received: 13 May 2025; Accepted: 04 Aug 2025.
Copyright: © 2025 Zhuang, Kwang Cheol, Botabara-Yap, Zhao, Ramos and Cao. This is an open-access article distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution License (CC BY). The use, distribution or reproduction in other forums is permitted, provided the original author(s) or licensor are credited and that the original publication in this journal is cited, in accordance with accepted academic practice. No use, distribution or reproduction is permitted which does not comply with these terms.
* Correspondence: Wenming Cao, Pingshan District Central Hospital, Shenzhen, China
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