High prevalence of HIV/AIDS risky sexual behaviors among street youth in gondar town: a community based cross sectional study

Negash Tadesse,Kefyalew Addis Alene,Zelalem Birhanu Mengesha,Tadesse Awoke Ayele

doi:10.1186/1756-0500-6-234

Abstract

BackgroundStreet youth are vulnerable to HIV/AIDS and all kinds of health risks. This study assessed HIV/AIDS risky sexual behaviors and its predictors among street youth in Gondar town, Northwest Ethiopia.MethodsA community based cross sectional study was conducted on 467 street youth living in Gondar town. A pre tested and structured questionnaire via interview was used to collect data. Logistic regression analysis was used to identify predictors. Odds ratio with 95% CI was computed to assess the strength of associations.ResultsA total of 288 (61.7%) respondents had sexual intercourse in their life time. Among these 264 (91.7%) had more than one lifetime sexual partners. In addition, 80.5% of them used condom inconsistently in the last 12 months. Khat chewing was found to be predictor of having multiple sexual partners. Rural former residence and longer duration of stay on the street are also identified as predictors of inconsistent condom use.ConclusionHigh prevalence of HIV/AIDS risky sexual behaviors were observed among street youth in Gondar town. Interventions aimed at reducing sexual risky behaviors among street youth should focus on reducing the duration of stay on the street and chat chewing.

Highlights

Street youth are vulnerable to HIV/AIDS and all kinds of health risks
All the 467 street youth who live in Gondar town for at least six month on the street were included in this study
This study provided the opportunity to look at HIV/ AIDS related risk sexual behaviors among street youth in Gondar town, Northwest Ethiopia

Summary

Introduction

Street youth are vulnerable to HIV/AIDS and all kinds of health risks. This study assessed HIV/AIDS risky sexual behaviors and its predictors among street youth in Gondar town, Northwest Ethiopia. The prevalence is higher in urban areas (4.2%), where the street youth are living, than in rural areas (0.6%). It is relatively high among young respondents who report two or more sexual partners (6.7%) in the 12 months before the survey and among those who used a condom inconsistently (2.4%) [2,3]. This high rate of HIV infection in youth is fueled by the increased number of street youth.

Methods

Results

Discussion

Conclusion