Prevention Behavior to Sexually Transmitted Diseases and AIDS of University Students

Abstract

AIDS is one of the issues currently faced by Thai society, and it is considered a borderless issue in today's world. The collaborative effort between the public and private sectors, including medical staff and students, in terms of campaigning to educate people, is one of the ways to prevent and control sexually transmitted diseases and AIDS. This exploratory research looked at behaviors in preventing sexually transmitted diseases and AIDS among students in higher education in Thailand; it aimed to collect quantitative data by using questionnaires with first to fourth year undergraduate students in public universities, totaling 293 persons. The sample group was randomly selected using stratified random sampling. The results of the survey revealed that 53.61% of the students used condoms when having sex for the first time and every time when having sex. However, most students did not regularly keep themselves informed on the available information regarding sexually transmitted diseases and AIDS. As a result, they had an incorrect understanding and practice on how to prevent sexually transmitted diseases and AIDS. For example, the students chose to have sexual relations with people who are good looking, have a good body image and look clean, because they believed that, with these people, they would be safe from sexually transmitted diseases and AIDS. Furthermore, the students avoided touching and eating with AIDS patients because they believed that they will be infected with HIV.