Reducing the vulnerability of adolescents and young people to HIV and STIs

This study examined the relationship between exposure to HIV/AIDS Behaviour Change Communication (BCC) messages and attitudes towards HIV/AIDS among Ghanaian youth using data from the 2003 Ghana Demographic and Health Survey. Awareness of AIDS was almost universal; however, awareness of HIV/AIDS messages was not as high as awareness of AIDS. Among those who had heard or seen all three messages (39.3% among females and 41.4% among males) only 17.0% of females and 20.7% of males had favourable attitudes. A multiple linear regression analysis revealed that hearing or seeing two or all the three messages was significantly associated with attitudes. Religious spaces also play a key role in shaping attitudes. However, high awareness of AIDS and HIV/AIDS messages did not translate into more favourable attitudes. New messages and existing BCC messages should be critically evaluated to ensure success especially among the youth.

The study explored the intersection between unfriendly government policy and exposure of youths to HIV/AIDS in Owerri, Nigeria. The government of Imo State (One of the 36 States in Nigeria, with Capital in Owerri) through the “Clean and Green” programme of the Environment and Transformation Commission (ENTRACO) demolished several makeshift apartments, styled ‘illegal structures’ where scores of private low-income earners practiced their craft vocation. Also affected were permanent buildings located close to main roads. More so, ban was placed on commercial motorcycle riding. These compounded the unemployment saga in the State as there is absence of industries and other significant job creating opportunities. The political economy theory is used as a conceptual framework. Questionnaire was administered on 30 persons living with HIV/AIDS (PLWHA), 2 Focus Group Discussions (FGDs) were held with commercial sex workers and in-depth interviews (IDIs) held with 5 health-care service providers in Owerri. Expected outcomes include a possible moonlighting, that exposes the female youth to HIV/AIDS. Lack of gainful employment; lack of financial assistance from kinsfolks and peer influence expose the women to HIV/AIDS. Access to cheap sex might be significant in the exposure of the males, who sometimes serve as bridge group, to HIV/AIDS.

Health information dissemination ensures behavior change among risk population against practices that promote ill-health. Facilities and personnel are used for its adoption for behavior change to teenagers’ lifesaving skills. However, research studies in Nigeria relating to information and communication technology (ICT) have been limited to only arts and dramas with limited attention paid to health information. This study therefore determined effects of communication technology in dissemination of contraceptive use among Nigerian teenagers

Total of 202 participants in 4 youth centres in Nigeria were used, 6 hypotheses tested and 4 ICT instruments used for the study at the four centres

The results revealed there was significant behavior change on teenagers’ attitude and behaviour. It showed there was significant behavior on teenagers’ knowledge in contraceptive use and significant result on attitude of teenagers to contraceptive use and education. However, there was no significant gender difference on teenagers’ knowledge and contraceptive use and no significant gender difference on teenagers’ attitude to contraceptive use and education

Government at all levels should support the establishment of ICT youth centres to improve teenagers’ behaviours and practices on contraceptive use to address risky practices

Between 1989 and 2009, we annually collected data on pregnancies, family planning use, education level and marital status in 10,008 female adolescents aged 11-19 years, and obtained their HIV status. School attendance increased during the study period, with higher school enrolment observed among girls with educated parents. Fertility rates rose from 9/1000 in 14 year olds to 200/1000 in 19 year olds. Adolescent Fertility Rate (AFR) decreased from 0.7 in 1990-94 to 0.5 in 2005-09 due to fertility decrease among adolescents with secondary education from 0.7 to 0.3 in the same period, and increase in secondary school attendance. Higher fertility was among the ever married, those with lower education, and the HIV positives with AFR of 0.9 compared to 0.6 of HIV negative adolescents. By the age of 20 years, 2% of adolescent girls were HIV infected. The ever married (AFR=2.2) had 8 times the fertility of the never married (AFR=0.25). Of the self-reported sexually active adolescents, 20.4% used family planning (56%-condoms, 42%-injections, and 2.4%-pills), and 14% had unfavourable pregnancy outcomes. Inter-sectoral interventions are urgently needed to empower adolescent girls in preventing pregnancy, HIV infection, and early school drop-out during their initial sexual encounters.

Background: Youths residents in Anambra are mainly involved in trading that entail lots of travelling making it difficult get them access health services. However, majority are very religious and are found in a larger group in churches on Sundays and weekday evenings.

Methods: A one-week evening retreat "The Sexual health and wellbeing of Youth” was organised for Youth Organisation comprising over 5000 members. It was fixed into an existing youth program that addressed HIV/STI effective prevention strategies and other SH issues that affect youths. It was innovative, creative, and comprehensive including free HCT. The outreach provided ongoing SH information, counselling via phone and referred where to access full service.

Results: Participants became concerned about their SH. 9weeks afterwards, over 3000 youths sought for on-going counselling, enquiries, referrals and took charge of their SH. Lots of phone helpline calls/SMS answered.
Number of youths who access STDs/HIV clinics in the referred hospitals increased from 24%to65%. They took up the campaign, 'STDs/HIV is our business' to reduce the high rate among them.

Conclusion: This showed that business-addicted youths can leave their businesses to access STI/HIV services if the knowledge and the effects are known and the need to do so.

Adolescent risk taking behaviours have become important policy issues in South Africa which is faced with a myriad of social and health problems among youth. HIV prevalence rates are high, adolescent rates are among the highest in the world, substance and alcohol abuse are high among teenagers and rape cases perpetuated by boys to girls in these age groups have increased. In response to these issues, a study on Risk Behaviour Among School Adolescents was undertaken.

A multi-cluster sampling was used to collect data covering 7 schools and 1065 students in Grades 9 and 11. Considering the sensitivity of the questions, need for honesty responses and the high literacy levels of the group, self-completion questionnaires were used. Logistic regressions were used to model the effects of ever had sex, frequency of sex and sexual partners. For this analysis these were reduced to binary outcomes.

Parental control and peer pressure have emerged as the strongest predictors of teenage sexual activities. Also, the roles of the family and religious institutions as protective factors have been established. Peer pressure emerged as the most important risk factor. One important observation is that youth who have accurate knowledge are more likely to take protective action.

A large body of research has found that sexual partner concurrency increases the transmission of sexually transmitted infections, including HIV. Researchers are now calling for further investigation into the types of concurrency that promote or impede onward transmission of STIs. In this paper, we use life history data collected from youth in urban Kisumu, Kenya, to examine levels of protection within concurrencies, defined by combinations of sexual intercourse and condom use. We find that approximately one-third of concurrency episode months were completely protected by consistent condom use and/or no sexual intercourse, and thus the large majority of months were not protected and therefore at some risk of STI transmission. Regression results show that mutual concurrency is more likely to display full protection for females and longer concurrencies, which are thought to increase transmission potential, are more likely to be protected among both females and males.

While awareness of HIV and AIDS is almost universal in Ghana, the same cannot be said of prevention of mother-to-child transmission (PMTCT) of the disease. This paper assessed the level of knowledge, barriers and attitudes towards PMTCT of HIV/AIDS. Data were gathered through 22 Focus Group Discussions (FGDs) and 29 In-Depth Interviews (IDIs) with People Living with HIV and AIDS, pregnant women and their partners. Research participants were sampled from twelve cities/towns purposively selected from the three ecological zones in Ghana. The inclusion criteria were border towns, commercial/mining towns/cities and towns/cities with high HIV/AIDS prevalence rates. It was found that people have high knowledge about MTCT but fair knowledge about PMTCT. For pregnant women, the most prominent deterring factor is the fear of being diagnosed HIV positive. Creating widespread community awareness of the full set of behaviours necessary to prevent MTCT is an essential step to improve participation in and adherence to interventions that are part of PMTCT programmes.

HIV has become a serious problem in India with one of the highest rates of spread in the world. Many factors like poverty, illiteracy, a large and young population and an increasing level of urbanization contribute to India’s vulnerability concerning the transmission of HIV. To prevent the further spread of HIV, it is fundamental that people have a good knowledge about the disease. Since many risk behaviours, associated with the transmission of HIV, are adopted in young ages, it is very important to put much of the prevention of efforts on adolescents. Therefore, this aims to investigate and compare knowledge about AIDS / HIV and to know attitude and beliefs regarding this disease, among college going students in Madurai Region, South India. 400 students from the different colleges of arts and science were given pre-tested questionnaire to examine college students' knowledge, attitudes and beliefs regarding HIV and AIDS and need for sex education and AIDS awareness programme. Multiple regression technique was used to assess the influence of individual and family characteristic on AIDS knowledge. The analysis revealed that knowledge and awareness about HIV/AIDS is grossly inadequate. There is immense need to conduct awareness programme about AIDS / HIV at Colleges Level. Findings suggest intensification of AIDS education campaign

Using the Information-Motivation-Behavioral Self Efficacy and Skills (IMB) model and applying discrete time hazard techniques, this study examines the correlates of age of first sexual intercourse for rural youth aged 11-17 enrolled in junior secondary schools in Edo State, Nigeria. Results indicate strong significant relationships between components of the IMB model and age at first sex for boys and girls, in particular for boys. Perceiving one’s self at risk of contracting HIV from sex delays the timing at first sex while experiencing pressure from others to engage in sex hastens the timing for boys and girls. Boys with knowledge about HIV have lower risks of experiencing first sexual intercourse earlier, but those who endorse more myths about the disease have higher risks. Boys who thought they could not abstain from sex had earlier first sex. Boys and girls with high condom use self-efficacy also had earlier timing to first sex. Policy makers are encouraged to improve knowledge about HIV/AIDS while emphasizing sexual abstinence as an important strategy to reducing the spread of HIV among rural youth in Edo state, Nigeria.