Teens’ Awareness of Sexually Transmitted Infections Evidence from some Rural Communities in Kwara State Nigeria

Abstract

This study investigates awareness of some Sexually Transmitted Infections amonghigh school students in some rural communities in Kwara State Nigeria. The studyaimed to assess the level of awareness of Sexually Transmitted Infections amongteenagers in the study area and to determine the most common source of informationon Sexually Transmitted Infections among participants. The study was conducted intwo public secondary schools in two rural communities in Kwara State using a self-administered structured questionnaire to collate data. A total of 330 participants,selected through a multi-stage sampling method with a mean age of 15.8±2.6 wereincluded in the study. Data retrieved from the field was analysed using StatisticalPackage for the Social Sciences (SPSS version 19). Data was presented in tablescomprising frequencies and simple percentages. Results from the study revealed that(79%) of the participants have heard of Sexually Transmitted Infection previouslywhile the most commonly known Sexually Transmitted Infection among participantsis gonorrhoea (64.3%) followed by HIV/AIDS (50.8%). The highest source ofinformation of Sexually Transmitted Infections among the participants is the school(57.1%), followed by the family (46.5%) while internet and social media was the leastchannel of information (16.1%). Wider dissemination of adequate information onSexually Transmitted Infections and sex related issues is strongly recommended in thestudy area.