Department of Population, Family and Reproductive Health, School of Public Health, College of Health Sciences, University of Ghana, Accra, Ghana.
College of Health and Wellbeing, Kintampo, Ghana.
Reprod Health. 2022 May 28;19(1):125. doi: 10.1186/s12978-022-01439-1.
Young people have a higher chance of experimenting with sex before marriage, thus they engage in risky sexual behaviours that predispose them to HIV infections. The objective of this study was to assess the relationship between engaging in risky sexual behaviours and the uptake of HIV testing services among young people in Ghana.
We analysed secondary data from the 2017/2018 Ghana Multiple Indicator Cluster Survey, which collected data on population and health indicators across the previous ten regions of Ghana, using a Computer Personal Assisted Interviewing application. Data were analysed using descriptive statistics, Chi-square test and Binomial Logistic regression.
Seventy-nine per cent (79%) of young women and 68% of young men did not use a condom during last sexual intercourse. In addition, 68% of young women and 87% of young men had not tested for HIV. Young women (AOR = 2.19; 95% CI 1.56-3.07) and young men (AOR = 3.38; 95% CI 1.18-9.64) aged 20-24 years had a higher likelihood of being tested for HIV compared to those aged 15-19 years. Young women with junior high school education (AOR = 2.03; 95% CI 1.08-3.81) were more likely to test for HIV compared with those who had pre-primary/no formal education. In addition, young women who were never married or in a union (AOR = 0.39; 95% CI 0.27-0.56) had 61% of reduced odds of being tested for HIV compared with those who were currently married or in a union. There was no significant association between risky sexual behaviours and HIV testing (p > 0.05).
This study demonstrated that condom use among sexually active young people was low. The uptake of HIV testing services was below expectation. Age, educational status, marital status and exposure to the mass media were the salient factors influencing the uptake of HIV testing among young people. Stakeholders should implement interventions to help increase the uptake of HIV testing and condom use among young people in Ghana.
年轻人更有可能在婚前尝试性行为，因此他们会从事一些高危性行为，使他们容易感染艾滋病毒。本研究的目的是评估加纳年轻人从事高危性行为与接受艾滋病毒检测服务之间的关系。
我们分析了 2017/2018 年加纳多指标类集调查的二级数据，该调查使用计算机个人辅助访谈应用程序收集了加纳前 10 个地区的人口和健康指标数据。使用描述性统计、卡方检验和二项逻辑回归进行数据分析。
79%的年轻女性和 68%的年轻男性在上一次性交中没有使用避孕套。此外，68%的年轻女性和 87%的年轻男性没有接受过艾滋病毒检测。20-24 岁的年轻女性（AOR=2.19；95%CI 1.56-3.07）和年轻男性（AOR=3.38；95%CI 1.18-9.64）比 15-19 岁的年轻人更有可能接受艾滋病毒检测。接受过初中教育的年轻女性（AOR=2.03；95%CI 1.08-3.81）比接受过学前教育或没有接受过正规教育的年轻女性更有可能接受艾滋病毒检测。此外，从未结婚或处于婚姻关系中的年轻女性（AOR=0.39；95%CI 0.27-0.56）接受艾滋病毒检测的几率比目前已婚或处于婚姻关系中的女性低 61%。高危性行为与艾滋病毒检测之间没有显著关联（p>0.05）。
本研究表明，加纳有性行为的年轻人中避孕套使用率较低，艾滋病毒检测服务的使用率低于预期。年龄、教育程度、婚姻状况和接触大众媒体是影响年轻人接受艾滋病毒检测的显著因素。利益相关者应实施干预措施，帮助加纳年轻人增加艾滋病毒检测和避孕套的使用。
