Knowledge of sexually transmitted infections among Senior Secondary School students in Jos North Local Government Area of Plateau State

Abstract

Background: Young people are particularly vulnerable to sexually transmitted infections. Most senior secondary students fall within this age group and their knowledge base is an important precursor in the reduction of risky sexual behavior among them. This study was conducted in Jos North LGA, Plateau State, with the aim of assessing the knowledge of senior secondary school students on sexually transmitted infections.

Methods: A descriptive cross-sectional study was carried out among 200 senior secondary students selected from three private and three public schools. A self-administered questionnaire was used to collect information. Knowledge was scored and graded as poor, fair and good. Analysis was carried out using SPSS 20 and statistical significance set at a p value ≤0.05 and a confidence level of 95%.

Results: Mean age of respondents was 16.2 ± 1.6 years. Eleven percent of respondents had never heard of sexually transmitted infections and among those who have, HIV/AIDS was the most commonly mentioned infection. A mean knowledge score of 13.91 ± 6.25 out of a total of 42 was found. Specifically, 56.8% had poor knowledge, 41.6% had fair knowledge and 1.6% had good knowledge of sexually transmitted infections. Knowledge was found to be statistically associated with the type of school (p<0.001) and student type (p<0.001). The major sources of knowledge were school and mass/social media.

Conclusion: Senior secondary school students in Jos North LGA were found to have poor knowledge of sexually transmitted infections. There is need to adopt strategies of delivering correct STI information to this group of young people which is an essential starting point in their behavior change process