HIV and Sexually Transmitted Infections knowledge and practices: a survey of female secondary school students in Enugu, South East Nigeria

Abstract

Background:The discovery of HIV has re-awakened global interest in sexually transmitted infections. As a means of curbing the spread, several efforts have been made at educating people so as to positively influence their sexual practices. Aim: The aim of this study was to determine the knowledge and practice of female secondary school students to sexually transmitted infections in Enugu, South East Nigeria. These could not only pose as barriers to effective sexual education and impair case management but also encourage wrong and harmful practices within the community. Methods: This study was cross-sectional and descriptive in design using a self-administered custom designed multiple choice questionnaire with sections on general information on sexually transmitted infections, awareness and perception of such infections. Ethical clearance and informed consents were obtained. Results: There were 183 respondents with a mean age of 15.9 ± 1.3 years, all females. There was a high level of awareness of HIV (97.8%) and STIs (94.5%). While 74.3% had correct knowledge of modes of transmission, 60.7% incorrectly identified casual contact as modes of transmission of HIV. Only 59% correctly identified all the HIV prevention methods tested, while 74.9% practiced all modes of prevention. The median aggregate score for knowledge of transmission and prevention was 72.2%, while it was 62.5% for good preventive practices. The older students were more likely to be sexually active. Conclusion:Female secondary school students in Enugu had a high level of awareness for sexually transmitted infections, especially for HIV. However, in-depth knowledge regarding mode of transmission and prevention was suboptimal. There is a need to strengthen public and school based sexual health education in Nigeria.

Knowledge, attitude and preventive practices of sexually transmitted infections among unmarried youths in an urban community in Lagos State, Nigeria

“…The study was a community-based, descriptive, cross-sectional study. The Cochrane's formula for descriptive study, n = z 2 pq/d 2 , was used, with a standard normal deviation at 95% confidence interval (1.96), a prevalence rate of 62.5% (0.625) from a similar study carried out in Enugu, South East Nigeria, 12 and an error of precision at 5% (0.05). The minimum sample size was 360.…”

“…A pretested, interviewer-administered, semi-structured questionnaire adapted from the reviewed literature 12,13,14,15,16 was used for data collection. The questionnaire consisted of four sections: Section A consisted of questions on socio-demographic characteristics of the respondents, while Section B had questions on the knowledge of the respondents about STIs.…”

Knowledge Levels of Vocational High School Students About Substance Addiction and Sexually Transmitted Diseases

“…In our study, it was determined that, from STDs, hepatitis B and hepatitis C are less known by students, whereas students do not know other STDs such as syphilis, gonorrhea, genital herpes, trichomonas, and chlamydia. In other studies, although HIV/AIDS is the most known disease, it can be seen that other STDs are less known (21)(22)(23)(24)(25). As AIDS disease is frequently shown in media, and a current and important problem, its status of being known is higher compared to other diseases.…”

“…In the study of Amu and Adegun, it was determined that best-known disease was AIDS and gonorrhea, respectively (21). In a study conducted with female students by Nwatu et al, it was found that the most known diseases were gonorrhea, AIDS and syphilis, respectively, and the least known disease was genital herpes (22). In our study, it was determined that, from STDs, hepatitis B and hepatitis C are less known by students, whereas students do not know other STDs such as syphilis, gonorrhea, genital herpes, trichomonas, and chlamydia.…”

“…In our study, to the questions related to protection from STDs, students answered as avoiding drug usage, as maintaining monogamy in sexual intercourse, as using condom in every intercourse. In Nwatu et al's study, students stated that they can be protected from STDs by avoiding unprotected sexual intercourse, by having intercourse with one partner, by avoiding injector sharing, by avoiding careless use of blood and blood products (22). Besides these answers, it was also determined that there are wrong beliefs about ways of protection, like not sharing the same chair with infected people, not shaking hands, not sharing the same toilet, not using kitchen tools.…”