Suchergebnisse

There is emerging evidence of a rise in new human immunodeficiency virus (HIV) infections in Ethiopia. This may partly be explained by an increase in risky sexual behaviors among high school adolescents. The current study was conducted to explore the association between a set of predictor variables (comprehensive HIV knowledge and condom use self-efficacy score) and an outcome variable of risky sexual behavior among high school adolescents in the Angacha District of Southern Ethiopia. The study employed a quantitative cross-sectional design to answer the research question. Primary data were collected using a self-administered questionnaire from 374 participants using a stratified random sampling technique. Descriptive statistics and bivariate and multivariate logistic regressions were computed using <em>SPSS Version 25</em>. The prevalence of risky sexual behavior among school adolescents was 30.04/per 1000. The Cronbach's Alpha for condom use self-efficacy score (CUSES) was 0.79. The association between HIV comprehensive knowledge and risky sexual behavior was not statistically significant. A statistically significant association was found between CUSES and the risky sexual behavior of the student, <em>P</em> = 0.048, <em>OR</em> =2.23, 95% CI [1.007, 4.925] when the covariates were held constant. The mean CUSES for males (<em>M</em> = 3.44) was significantly higher than females (<em>M</em> = 3.22), <em>U</em> = 14523.5, <em>P</em> = 0.025, <em>η</em>2 = 0.016). Policy decisions to revitalize school-based adolescent sexual health promotion to empower adolescents with life skills are needed to sustain the gains of HIV/AIDS control and enhance social change in the country.

Although the use of antenatal and other skilled maternal health delivery services in Nigeria was reported to be on the increase, this research explored whether geopolitical zone of residence and place of domicile are associated with the number of antenatal visits and place of delivery. A quantitative cross-sectional study based on secondary data from the Demographic and Health Survey was used to examine the relationship between women's geopolitical zone of residence, place of domicile (rural/urban), and the number of antenatal visits (categorized as fewer than four or four or more) and delivery (home or health facility). A total of 33,385 women aged 15–49 years were recruited from 888 clusters spread across all the 36 states and the federal capital territory of Nigeria using a stratified two stage proportionate to size cluster design. A higher proportion of women from the South West and North Central zones had made four or more antenatal care visits compared to the other geopolitical zones. The difference was statistically significant even after controlling for differences in education, income, ethnicity, religion, autonomy, and place of domicile (adjusted odd ratio = 2.062; 95% confidence interval [1.897, 2.241]; <em>p </em>< .05). Healthcare policy makers should consider the potential impact of geopolitical zones and place of domicile to enable the development of an all-inclusive strategy to robustly address maternal health services in Nigeria.