Abstract
Background: Hepatitis B Viral (HBV) infection is a sexually transmitted infection awareness is key to prevention of the infection. Over half of the teenagers have had sexual intercourse by age 18 years in the United States. Aim: To determine the awareness of HBV infection and the age at coitarche amongst adolescents in Rivers State. Methods: This was study was a 6-week cross-sectional study comprising of 240 female adolescents attending holiday camp meeting in Port Harcourt, Rivers State. The subjects comprised of secondary school students and University undergraduates. The consent for the study was given by the care-giver and permission for the study was obtained from the Director Public Health Rivers State Ministry of Health. Information was collected and analysed using SPSS version 25. Results: The mean age was 15-years. The age range was 10 – 19 years. The distribution was 10 – 14 years represented by 51 (21.3%) of the subjects and 15 – 19 years represented by 189 (78.7%) of the subjects. The educational status comprised of secondary school 153 (64%) while tertiary level of education comprised of 87 (36%) of the subjects. One hundred and twenty-nine (54%) were aware of HBV infection while the mean age at coitarche was 17 years. Conclusion: The study revealed the awareness of HBV infection among female adolescent as 54% while the mean age at coitarche was 17 years. It necessary that adolescents be aware of the dangers of unprotective coitus and contacting HBV infection and the benefits of HBV vaccination.
Published Version
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