Sexuality Perception Of Risk Of Hivstis And Condom Use Among High School Adolescents In South-gondar Administrative Zone Amhara Region

A cross-sectional descriptive survey through a self-administered, anonymous andrnstructured questionnaire was conducted from December 2003 to January 2004 inrnrandomly selected two high schools in South Gondar Zone to determine the sexualrnbehavior of adolescents, their risk perception about HIV/AIDS and condom use. A totalrnof 709 adolescents participated in the study. Of theses, 489(69.0%) were males andrn220(31.0%) were females. About 9% of the respondents were sexually active. Fifteen,rn(23.4%) of the sexually active respondents claimed to have more than one sexual partner.rnAbout 14.8% had coital contact with female commercial sex workers of which onlyrn37.5% of them reported ever condom use. Six hundred seventy four respondents (95.1%)rnknew about STDs and AIDS was the most commonly known STD (92.1%) followed byrngonorrhea (89.85%) and Syphilis (88.9%). About 76.9% of the respondents mentionedrnteachers as the most common source of information for HIV/AIDS and STIs. More thanrn70% of the respondents answered favorably for all questions concerning “normal”rninteractions such as eating together, shaking hands and continuing friendship withrnHIV/AIDS patients. About 5.8% of students perceived to high chance of acquiring HIV.rnOnly 47.4% of the students felt that most students have adequate information aboutrncondoms. Four hundred twenty two (59.5%) of the students approved the idea of condomrndistribution in schools. About 82.2% of school adolescents claimed to be voluntary tornunder go voluntary counseling and testing for HIV.rnIt was concluded that adolescents are engaged early to practice sex, exposed to high riskrnsexual behavior, unfavorable attitude manifested to towards HIV/AIDS patients, thernperception of risk acquisition is weak and there is inadequate family and social support torndiscuss about sexuality and protective measure.rnHence, recommended that programs targeted towards adolescents should work withrnadolescents, promote their participation and equipped them with life skills to put theirrnknowledge in to practice, and respond timely to the existing high demand for VCT byrnestablishing accessible and affordable service centers.rnKey words: Adolescent, sexuality, risk perception, condom use

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