Knowledge of sexually transmitted diseases among secondary school students in Osisioma Ngwa local government area, Abia State, Nigeria

Abstract

Background: Sexually Transmitted Diseases (STDs) are a major health problem affecting mostly young people in both developed and developing countries. Insufficient knowledge about STDs is a major impediment to successfully prevent the diseases among adolescent populations in developing countries.
Objective: To assess the knowledge of sexually transmitted diseases among secondary school students in Osisioma Ngwa L.G.A.
Methodology: A descriptive cross-sectional study among secondary school students. A multistage sampling procedure involving simple random sampling and stratified sampling methods was used to select 400 students from four schools. The data were collected using a semi-structured, self administered questionnaire.
Results: The level of awareness of STDs among respondents was highest for HIV/AIDS (89.2%), gonorrhoea (84.8%) and syphilis (65.2%). However, awareness was very low for chlamydia (13.2%) and trichomoniasis (16.7%). Out of the 400 respondents, 96.8% had heard of STDs. The symptom of STDs that the respondents knew most was painful urination (66.5%).
Conclusion: The respondents had a moderately good knowledge of the prominent STDs such as gonorrhea, syphilis and HIV/AIDS but poor knowledge of STDs such as chlamydia and trichomoniasis.

Keywords: Sexually Transmitted Diseases, Students, Knowledge