Contraception and prevalence of sexually transmitted diseases among adolescents and young adults in Uganda

Abstract

The study is aimed at (i) exploring the knowledge and attitudes of adolescents (15-19 years old) and young adults (20-24 years old) towards sex and contraception (condoms) and (ii) determining their level of knowledge and attitudes towards sexually transmitted diseases (STD) as well as the prevalence of the latter among the sexually active adolescents and young adults. A sample of 4510 respondents (1545 males and 2965 females) aged 15-24 years from urban and rural areas were interviewed. The majority of adolescents and young adults surveyed have a negative attitude towards the use of condoms although most of them agreed that they prevent STD. Over 95% of the respondents have heard about STD and their level of knowledge is relatively high; slightly higher for urban residents and for young males. Approximately 21% of the male and 8% of the female respondents admitted having ever contracted STD. The gap between contraceptive knowledge and practice is rather wide. Only a small proportion of the respondents were using condoms at the time of the survey.

PIP: Between 1988 and 1990, researchers conducted the Adolescent Fertility Survey in the districts of Jinja, Kampala, Masaka, Kabale, Hoima, and Mbale in Uganda among 4510 15-24 year old urban and rural youth to examine their knowledge and attitudes toward sex, contraception, and sexually transmitted diseases (STDs). Males were more likely to experience 1st sexual intercourse at an earlier age than females. Many youth experienced their 1st sexual intercourse before age 15 and they had had more sexual partners than females. 83.9% of males and 87% of females used no contraception. Overall knowledge of condoms was high (78.2% for males and 56.6% for females) except among rural females (31.1%), especially among urban males (85.8%). Almost everyone was knowledgeable about STDs (96.1% males, 93.5% females). They tended to agree that condoms prevent STDs (urban males, 80.2%; urban females, 76%; rural males, 89.8%; and rural females 83.7%). Despite these high knowledge levels and positive attitude toward condoms, condom use levels were low, e.g., only 12.7% of males and 0.4% of females who were familiar with condoms used them. 40% of all respondents knew about the 3 most common STDs: gonorrhea, syphilis, and AIDS. Urban males were a bit more knowledgeable about these 3 STDs than were the other groups (48.8% vs. 41.2% for urban females, 41.3% for rural males, and 41.6% for rural females). In addition, STD prevalence was quite high especially among males (21.4% for males vs. 7.8% for females). The unsafe sexual practices revealed in this study indicated the need for sex education earlier than it is presently being offered in the school system and the establishment of health clinics geared toward adolescent needs.