Knowledge of HIV/AIDS and Disposition to Condom Use Among Adolescent of a Secondary School in Ilorin.

Abstract

The increasing incidence of sexually transmitted diseases and the HIV crisis among young people on the African continent has brought more focus on the reproductive health of adolescents across the continent. To protect Nigeria’s large adolescent population would require good information on HIV/ AIDS. This study is a descriptive cross sectional survey of the knowledge of 196 adolescent secondary school students in Ilorin on HIV/AIDS and their willingness to use condoms. It was conducted between July and December 2005 and its objectives include the assessment of the level of awareness of the adolescents on HIV/AIDS and their disposition to use condoms. The results showed that forty-three percent of the subjects were females and fifty-seven percent were males. Their ages ranged from 10 years to 19 years with the mean being 16 years. The knowledge of the respondents was high on issues relating to STIs and HIV transmission and prevention but was significantly low when awareness of individual STIs was considered. Also related to this is the ambivalence of the respondents to condom sales and distribution. While many of the respondents opined that condom distribution was wrong, many of them also signified the willingness to use a condom if it is made available. The results showed relatively good knowledge of HIV/AIDS and remarkable interest to the use of condoms by the studied population.

KEY WORDS: Condom, Adolescent, HIV/AIDS.