Literature has shown that the knowledge and attitudes of young people regarding STIs such as HIV/AIDS and its prevention still remains an important topic in the lives of these young individuals in respect of their decision making so as to practice safer sex options in order to eschew contracting HIV and other STIs. This descriptive cross-sectional study assessed the risky sexual behaviour associated with STI knowledge among senior high school students from the Twene Amanfo Senior High Technical School in the Sunyani municipality. The study deployed a randomized sampling technique in recruiting 250 study participants. Quantitative data stemming from the study were analyzed using SPSS version 25 and data were presented using frequencies as tables and figures. The study found that only 40% of senior high school students possessed high knowledge on STIs whereas the majority of 60% had low knowledge on STIs associated with sexual risk behaviours. The study concluded on the note that the majority of senior high school students had low knowledge on STIs associated with sexual risk behaviour which is worrying. The study, therefore, recommends that the Ministry of Education must collaborate with the Ministry of Health is rolling out adolescent health programmes in the Ghana education curriculum largely geared towards sex and STI education. This is essential in increasing students’ knowledge level on STIs in order to engender preventive and safe sex practices.
In the ideal world scenario risky sexual behaviours are rampant. The most worrying part is the fact that teenagers and the youth are the ones with a high predisposition to indulge in risky sexual behaviours. This study assessed the risky sexual behaviour and the STI Risk Perception among senior high school students within the Sunyani municipality. A descriptive cross-sectional study design was deployed in order to get a clear picture of the relationship between risky sexual behaviour and attendant STIs. The targeted population was 250 students of the Twene Amanfo Senior High Technical School (TASTECH) in Sunyani- Ghana. In order to reduce bias, a simple random sampling was used in recruiting the 250 participants. A structured questionnaire was employed in obtaining quantitative data from the students. Statistical Package for the Social Sciences (SPSS version 25) was used to analyze the quantitative data. The results indicated that, 110 students (44% of respondents) indulged in various forms of sexual risk behaviours. A greater majority of 147 (78.8%) had low STI risk perception which is very disheartening. Sexual risk behaviours such as early sexual initiation (OR 7.462, CI: 4.143 – 14.096), having multiple sexual partners (OR 43.669, CI: 20.825 – 91.573), non-condom use (OR 6.368, CI: 3.456 – 11.735) and the use of drugs (OR 15.523, CI: 8.226 – 29.292) were strongly associated with the likelihood of contracting sexually transmitted infections. The study, therefore, recommends that there should be a rigorous mass sensitization campaign across all Senior High schools in Ghana to create more awareness among young people on the dangers associated with indulging in risky sexual behaviours.
A number of factors have been identified as influencing the prevalence of anaemia in children. In the Sekyere East district, an increasing trend of children with severe anaemia leading to haemotransfusion has been observed. Over a three-month period (June to August 2022) approximately one hundred (100) children were haemotransfused due to severe anaemia in the Effiduase district hospital. This quantitative oriented study adopted the descriptive cross-sectional study design. Specifically, the study sought to explore the prevalence of childhood anaemia and its associated factors in the district. Purposive sampling technique which is a non-probability (non-randomized) was used to select children and their guardians to partake in the study. SPSS statistical software version 25 was used to analyze quantitative data of this study and data were presented in frequencies using tables. This study has accentuated high prevalence of anaemia in the Sekyere East district looking at the various findings brought to light by the Haemoglobin (Hb) blood analysis, Mean Corpuscular Volume (MCV) blood tests and the Mean Corpuscular Haemoglobin (MCH) test results. The findings from the study have also shown that malaria in children is significantly associated with the onset of childhood anaemia. The study additionally revealed moderate nutritional intake of food products very rich in iron, vitamin B12 and folate nutrients necessary to curb anaemia in children. In conclusion, study findings therefore underscore the need for multi-faceted approaches that address both malaria control and nutrition in order to reduce anaemia among the children in the Sekyere East district.
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