STI Treatment-Seeking Behaviors Among Youth in Nigeria: Are There Gender Differences?

Abstract

The World Health Organization (WHO) estimates that more than three million new curable STI infections occur annually among people aged 15-49 worldwide-70% of those among 15-24-year-olds. 1,2 STIs can lead to major pregnancy complications, secondary infertility, and severe pain and discomfort. 3 In addition to being serious diseases in their own right, STIs can increase the risk of HIV acquisition and transmission by a factor of up to 10.In Nigeria, research on STIs among young people is limited, although there is some evidence that STIs are indeed a common problem in this population. According to a study conducted in the country's rural southeast, the prevalence of STIs among adolescent females was as high as 17%. 4 When only sexually active women were considered, 17-19-year-olds had the highest prevalence of chlamydia (11%) and candidiasis (26%), and were also the age-group most likely to have had any STI (44%); women younger than 17 had the highest prevalence of trichomoniasis (11%), and nearly 20% also had symptomatic candidiasis. Another study conducted in urban PortHarcourt confirmed the high rate of STIs among adolescents and reported an overall adolescent STI prevalence rate of 14%. 5 On the basis of this evidence, the promotion of prompt and appropriate health-seeking behavior among Nigerian adolescents should be a public health priority; however, very little information exists about whether and where young people seek care for their STIs.

Treatment-seeking behaviour and barriers to service access for sexually transmitted diseases among men who have sex with men in China: a multicentre cross-sectional survey

“…Suspected STD-infected subjects with higher education levels were also more likely to seek STD treatment in clinics, which corroborated previous studies [13, 14, 36, 37]. It indicates subjects with better education could be more knowledgeable about STDs and had more access to necessary STD education, resulting to their higher rates of clinic-based treatment seeking behaviour.…”

“…Suspected STD-infected MSM with higher incomes were more likely to attend STD clinics, consistent with results from studies in Nigeria [36] and several Chinese cities [13, 14, 37]. Lower incomes was associated with poorer choices of treatment for STDs, for several reasons, including its correlation with lower educational level as well as unaffordable STD services and a general lack of appropriate healthcare resources in certain communities [24].…”

Association between Knowledge of Sexually Transmitted Infections and Sources of the Previous Point of Care among Nigerians: Findings from Three National HIV and AIDS Reproductive Health Surveys

“…Due to the weak health infrastructure and lack of manpower, most countries in Africa have limited specialised clinics for prevention and treatment of STIs [16,17]. Some studies in Africa showed that people with STIs patronise pharmaceutical shops, patent medicine sellers, and traditional healers [18,19]. Additionally, adolescents and young people tend to engage in self-medication to avoid embarrassment and stigma at routine health clinics.…”

Urban adolescent sexual and reproductive health in low-income and middle-income countries

“…For example, there have been several studies that have examined adolescents’ STI treatment seeking behaviour. The majority of these studies show that adolescents opt first for self-treatment or in Sub-Saharan African countries, go to traditional healers 59 60. The most common reasons given for not seeking any treatment for STIs were ‘shame’, ‘did not feel it was necessary’, ‘financial problem’ and ‘heals automatically’ 59…”