Condom Use at Last Sexual Intercourse and Its Correlates among Males and Females Aged 15-49 Years in Nepal.

Bimala Sharma,Eun Nam

doi:10.3390/ijerph15030535

Bimala Sharma, Eun Nam

Open Access

https://doi.org/10.3390/ijerph15030535

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Abstract

This study aimed to assess the prevalence and correlates of condom use at last sexual intercourse among people aged 15–49 years in Nepal. Secondary data analysis was performed using the Nepal Demographic and Health Survey 2011. The study was restricted to the respondents who reported ever having had sexual intercourse; 9843 females and 3017 males were included. Condom use was assessed by asking if respondents used condoms in their most recent sexual intercourse. Chi-square test and multivariate logistic regression analysis were performed using Complex Sample Analysis Procedure to adjust for sample weight and multistage sampling design. Overall, 7.6% of total, and 16.3% of males and 6.2% of females reported using condoms in their last sexual intercourse. Living in Far-Western region, age and wealth quintile were positively associated with condom use in both males and females. Being unmarried was the most important predictor of condom use among males. Higher education was associated with increased likelihood of condom use in females. However, mobility, having multiple sexual partners, and HIV knowledge were not significant correlates of condom use in both sexes. A big difference was observed in the variance accounted for males and females; indicating use of condoms is poorly predicted by the variables included in the study among females. Condom use was more associated with sociodemographic factors than with sexual behavior and HIV knowledge.

Highlights

IntroductionThe prevalence of condom use has increased almost everywhere, but rates remain low in many developing countries [1]
The shift towards later marriage in most countries has led to an increase in premarital sex.The prevalence of condom use has increased almost everywhere, but rates remain low in many developing countries [1]
The majority of the respondents were from the Terai region; 33.9% respondents were from Central development region; and 86.0% were from rural areas

Summary

Introduction

The prevalence of condom use has increased almost everywhere, but rates remain low in many developing countries [1]. The South Asian Region still has a low prevalence of HIV, the highest number of people with HIV outside Africa resides in India, a bordering country of Nepal. Previous studies found that condom use was associated with a large number of community factors such as type of residence [4,5], socio-demographic factors such as age and sex [5,6,7], marital status [8,9,10], education [4,9], occupation [6,9,11], and economic status [1,5,7]. Previous studies show mixed evidences regarding the relationship between multiple sexual partners and condom use [11,12]

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