Perceptions of risk to HIV Infection among Adolescents in Uganda: Are they Related to Sexual Behaviour?

Richard Kibombo, Stella Neema, Fatima H. Ahmed

Abstract

Uganda has been hailed as a success story in the fight against HIV that has seen a reversal in prevalence from a peak of 15% in 1991 to about 6.5% currently. Since 1992, the largest and most consistent declines in HIV have occurred among the 15-19-yearolds. While many studies have examined how key behavior changes (Abstinence, Be faithful and Condom use) have contributed to the decline in HIV prevalence, few have studied the relationship between sexual behaviors and risk perception. Using data from the 2004 National Survey of Adolescents, multivariate logistic regression models were fitted to examine the strength of the association between risky sexual behavior and perceived risk among 12-19-year-old adolescents in Uganda. After controlling for other correlates of sexual behavior such as age, education, residence, region and marital status, the findings indicate highly significant positive association between perceived risk and risky sexual behavior among males but not females. The findings reveal that, regardless of their current sexual behavior, most female adolescents in Uganda feel at great risk of HIV infection. The findings also show that adolescents with broken marriages are much more vulnerable to high risk sexual behaviors than other categories of adolescents. These results further emphasize the need for a holistic approach in addressing the social, economic and contextual factors that continue to put many adolescents at risk of HIV infection. 

 

Keywords: adolescents, HIV infection, sexual behavior

Full Text:

PDF

References

Joint United Nations Programme on HIV/AIDS, World Health Organization. AIDS Epidemic Update. Geneva: UNAIDS, 2006.

Neema S, Ahmed FH, Kibombo R, Bankole A. Adolescent Sexual and Reproductive Health in Uganda: Results from the 2004 National Survey of Adolescents. Occasional Report No. 25. New York: The Allan Guttmacher Institute, 2006.

Uganda Ministry of Health STD/AIDS Control Programme. HIV/AIDS Surveillance Report . Kampala: Ministry of Health, 2000.

Ministry of Health [Uganda], ORC Macro. Uganda HIV/AIDS Sero-behavioural Survey 2004-2005. Calverton, Maryland: Ministry of Health and ORC Macro, 2006.

Prata N, Morris L, Mazive E, Vahidnia F, Stehr M. Relationship between HIV risk perception and condom use: Evidence from a population-based survey in Mozambique. Int Fam Plan Perspect. 2006 Dec;32(4) 192-200.

Lagarde E, Pison G, Enel C. Knowledge, attitudes and perception of AIDS in rural Senegal: relationship to sexual behaviour and behaviour change. AIDS. 1996 Mar;10(3):327-34

Ekanem EE, Afolabi BM, Nuga AO, Adebajo SB. Sexual behaviour, HIV-related knowledge and condom use by intra-city commercial bus drivers and motor park attendants in Lagos, Nigeria. Afr J Reprod Health. 2005 Apr;9(1):78-87

Hulton LA, Cullen R, Khalokho SW. Perceptions of the risks of sexual activity and their consequences among Ugandan adolescents. Stud Fam Plann. 2000 Mar;31(1):35-46

Kiirya K.S and P. Kyobutungi. 2004. Predictors of selected HIV-Risk Sexual Behaviors in Adolescents and Young Adults of Iganga District in Uganda. Int Conf AIDS. 2004 Jul 11-16; 15: abstract no. MoPeD3972.

Maswanya ES, Moji K, Horiguchi I, Nagata K, Aoyagi K, Honda S, Takemoto T. Knowledge, risk perception of AIDS and reported sexual behaviour among students in secondary schools and colleges in Tanzania. Health Educ Res. 1999 Apr;14(2):185-96.

Stanton BF, Fitzgerald AM, Li X, Shipena H, Ricardo IB, Galbraith JS, Terreri N, Strijdom J, Hangula-Ndlovu V, Kahihuata J. HIV risk behaviors, intentions, and perceptions among Namibian youth as assessed by a theory-based questionnaire. AIDS Educ Prev. 1999 Apr;11 (2):132-49.

Smith, R. A., & Morrison, D. (2006). The impact of stigma, experience, and group referent on HIV risk assessments and HIV testing intentions in Namibia. Social Science and Medicine, 63, 2649-2660.

Boer, H., & Mashamba, M. T. (2005). Psychosocial correlates of HIV protection motivation among black adolescents in Venda, South Africa. AIDS Education and Prevention, 17, 590-602.

Pettifor, A. E., Rees, H. V., Steffenson, A., Hlongwa-Madikizela, L., MacPhail, C., Vermaak, K., & Kleinschmidt, I. (2004). HIV and sexual behaviour among young South Africans: A national survey of 15-24 year olds. Johannesburg: Reproductive Health Research Unit,University of Witwatersrand.

Simbayi, L. C., Chauveau, J., & Shisana, O. (2004). Behavioural responses of South African youth to the HIV/AIDS epidemic: A nationwide survey. AIDS Care, 16, 605-618.

Kermyt G. Anderson, Ann M. Beutel, and Brendan Maughan-Brown. 2007. HIV/AIDS Risk Perceptions and First Sexual Intercourse among Youth in Cape Town, South Africa. Working Paper. Department of Anthropology. University of Oklahoma.

Macintyre K, Brown L, & Sosler S. (2001). It is not what you know, but who you knew: Examining the relationship between behavior change and AIDS mortality in Africa. AIDS Prevention and Education, 13,160-174.

Eaton, L., Flisher, A. J., & Aarø, L. E. (2003). Unsafe sexual behavior in South African youth. Social Science and Medicine, 56, 149-165.

Millstein SG, Halpern-Felsher BL. Judgments about risk and perceived invulnerability in adolescents and young adults. Journal of Research on Adolescence 2002; 12(4):399-422.

Akwara PA, Madise NJ, Hinde A. Perception of risk of HIV/AIDS and sexual behaviour in Kenya. Journal of Biosocial Science 2003; 35(3):385-411.

Asiimwe D, Kibombo R, Neema S. Focus group discussions on social cultural factors impacting on HIV/AIDS in Uganda. Kampala, Uganda: Makerere Institute of Social Research, 2003.

Sheppard Z, Madise N, Hennink M. Gender and Risk of HIV in Ghana and Uganda. University of Southampton, UK. 2004.

Wood E, Li K, Miller L, Hogg S.R, Montaner J.S.G, Schechter M.T, Kerr T. Baseline self-perceived risk of HIV infection independently predicts the rate of HIV seroconversion in a prospective cohort of injection drug users. International Journal of Epidemiology 2005, 34(1):152-158.

Stein J. A, Nyamathi A. Gender differences in behavioural and psychosocial predictors of HIV testing and return for test results in a high-risk population. AIDS Care, Volume 12, Number 3, 1 June 2000, pp. 343-356(14)

Uganda Bureau of Statistics, ORC Macro. Uganda Demographic and Health Survey 2000-2001. Uganda Bureau of Statistics, Entebbe, Uganda and ORC Macro, Calverton, Maryland, USA. 2001.

Amuyunzu N.M, Biddlecom A.E, Ouedraogo C, Woog V. Qualitative Evidence on Adolescents' Views of Sexual and Reproductive Health in Sub-Saharan Africa, Occasional Report, No. 16. New York: The Allan Guttmacher Institute. 2005.

Joint United Nations Programme on HIV/AIDS. 2004 Report on the global AIDS epidemic. Geneva: UNAIDS, 2004.

Refbacks

  • There are currently no refbacks.