Prevalence and determinants of sexually transmitted infections among women attending Ngurore primary health care, Yola South, Adamawa State, Nigeria

Abstract

Sexually transmitted infections are an important global health concern as more than 1 million people are newly infected with the four most curable STIs each day: Treponema pallidum, Neisseria gonorrhea, Trichomanas vaginalis and Chlamydia trachomatis. STIs are infectious diseases caused by bacteria, viruses, and parasites that spread from person to person through vaginal, oral, and anal sex. Some STIs can also be spread from other activities such as deep kissing, mother to child transmission during pregnancy. This study aimed to investigate the prevalence, risk factors, and distribution of sexually transmitted infections (STIs) among women attending Ngurore Primary Health Care Center, Yola. A total of 367 women, aged 15–45, were randomly selected for the study regardless of age, health status, or ethnic background. The most prevalent STI identified was Trichomonas vaginalis, accounting for 36 cases (9.8%), fol0lowed by Chlamydia trachomatis, which, although less common, affected 16 cases (4.4%) of the surveyed population. This study revealed the association of STIs with socioeconomic factors: age, marital status, education level, occupation, number of children and income level. Behavioral factors such as menstrual hygiene practice, sexual activities, and toilet facilities were identified as contributing to STIs prevalence. This emphasized the need for health promotion activities like clinical STIs testing during antenatal, menstrual hygiene outreach programs, health education programs on STIs prevention measures with more emphasis on trichomonas and chlamydia will assist in early diagnosis, management, and control of the infection.