Govender Trishka, Govender Nalini, Reddy Poovendhree
Department of Environmental Health, Faculty of Natural Sciences, Mangosuthu University of Technology, Durban, South Africa.
Department of Basic Medical Science, Faculty of Health Sciences, Durban University of Technology, Durban, South Africa.
Int J Sex Health. 2022 Sep 2;34(4):540-549. doi: 10.1080/19317611.2022.2117257. eCollection 2022.
Risky sexual behavior (RSB) is associated with increased rates of sexually transmitted infections (STIs), Human Immunodeficiency Virus (HIV) infection, and unwanted pregnancies among university students. In view of its global impact on public health, the potential association between food insecurity and RSBs among university students requires investigation. This study aimed to determine the association between food security status and the likelihood to engage in RSBs amongst university students in KwaZulu-Natal (KZN), South Africa (SA). This cross-sectional study was conducted at four public sector higher educational institutions (HEIs) in KZN. A convenience sampling strategy was used to recruit participants ( = 375). All data were analyzed using STATA version 15 software. Our data shows that food insecurity increased the odds of students engaging in transactional sex for "money" or "to meet basic material needs." Participants who were food insecure were two times more likely to have multiple sexual partners. Our findings demonstrate a significant association between food insecurity and RSBs. It is recommended that interventions targeting the alleviation of food insecurity, should be developed and implemented by HEIs to reduce RSB participation.
危险的性行为（RSB）与大学生性传播感染（STIs）、人类免疫缺陷病毒（HIV）感染率上升以及意外怀孕有关。鉴于其对全球公共卫生的影响，有必要调查粮食不安全与大学生危险的性行为之间的潜在关联。本研究旨在确定南非夸祖鲁-纳塔尔省（KZN）大学生的粮食安全状况与参与危险的性行为可能性之间的关联。这项横断面研究在KZN的四所公立高等教育机构（HEIs）进行。采用便利抽样策略招募参与者（n = 375）。所有数据均使用STATA 15版软件进行分析。我们的数据显示，粮食不安全增加了学生为“钱”或“满足基本物质需求”而进行交易性性行为的几率。粮食不安全的参与者拥有多个性伴侣的可能性是其他人的两倍。我们的研究结果表明粮食不安全与危险的性行为之间存在显著关联。建议高等教育机构制定并实施针对缓解粮食不安全的干预措施，以减少危险的性行为参与率。
