Knowledge of Sexually Transmitted Infections Among Secondary Schools Students in Ebonyi State, Nigeria

Abstract

This study was carried out to determine the knowledge of sexually transmitted infections among secondary school students in Ebonyi State. The cross-sectional survey research design was used to study 645 (male, 335, female, 310) SS2 students drawn through the systematic simple random sampling technique. Knowledge of Sexually Transmitted Infections Questionnaire (KSTIQ r = 0.82) was used to collect data. Frequencies, percentages and chi-square statistic were used to analyze the data. The results showed secondary school students in Ebonyi State had high (73.0%) knowledge of STIs; males had higher (60.9%) STI-related knowledge than females (39.1%) had. Students below age 15-19 years had higher (67.8%) knowledge than those 20 years and above (32.3%) had. The findings further indicated there was a significant association between gender (χ² = 9.505, p = 0.002); age (χ² = 25.347, p = 0.000) and knowledge of STIs among the secondary school students. Based on these findings, it was concluded that secondary school students in Ebonyi State had high knowledge of STIs. It was therefore recommended among others that basic information on STIs should be provided to the students through in-class and out–of class activities to sustain the high knowledge of STIs already acquired.

Keywords: Knowledge, sexually transmitted Infections, secondary school students