Correlates of HIV Knowledge and Sexual Risk Behaviors Among Female Military Personnel

Abstract

Objective-Uniformed services personnel are at an increased risk of HIV infection. We examined the HIV/AIDS knowledge and sexual risk behaviors among female military personnel to determine the correlates of HIV risk behaviors in this population.Method-The study used a cross-sectional design to examine HIV/AIDS knowledge and sexual risk behaviors in a sample of 346 females drawn from two military cantonments in Southwestern Nigeria. Data was collected between 2006 and 2008. Using bivariate analysis and multivariate logistic regression, HIV/AIDS knowledge and sexual behaviors were described in relation to sociodemographic characteristics of the participants.Results-Multivariate logistic regression analysis revealed that level of education and knowing someone with HIV/AIDS were significant (p<0.05) predictors of HIV knowledge in this sample. HIV prevention self-efficacy was significantly (P<0.05) predicted by annual income and race/ ethnicity. Condom use attitudes were also significantly (P<0.05) associated with number of children, annual income, and number of sexual partners.Conclusion-Data indicates the importance of incorporating these predictor variables into intervention designs.

Modeling Covariates of Self-Perceived and Epidemiologic Notions of Risk for Acquiring STIs/HIV among Military Personnel: A Comparative Analysis

“…We recorded no significant association between HIV/AIDS knowledge and the risk assessment methods, despite a high prevalence of HIV risk indicators in the population. Although the adult literacy rate in Nigeria is considered high, this observation corroborates with our earlier findings [6-7], and that of other researchers [31-32], where despite high degree of HIV/AIDS knowledge, armed forces personnel were reported to have engaged in risk-taking behaviors. For instance, approximately, 60.4% of our study participants who did not use condom during their last sexual encounter were at moderate/high risk of contracting STIs/HIV, despite widespread knowledge that condoms offer protection against the diseases when used correctly and consistently.…”

“…Proximity to the disease (e.g., knowing someone with HIV/AIDS) has similarly been shown to be useful in educating others about the disease [34, 47]. This finding confirms the wisdom of many community programs that utilize persons with HIV/AIDS to reach and motivate the community [6]. Also of interest, was the highly significant moderate/high risk (100%) associated with participants who were identified as receiving money, drugs or gift for sex, sharing needles to inject drugs, those who had sex partner(s) who used needles to inject drugs and where both partners were drinking before last sexual encounter.…”

“…Thus, self-perception of risk may be the first step toward behavioral changes and adoption of protective actions such as condom use, and has been reported to be powerfully influenced by social, structural, and population-level risks and protections [22]. A typical Nigerian military environment, which tends to put the female military personnel at high risk of contracting and transmitting STIs/HIV have been described in previous studies [6-9]. Analyzing the risk environment in which these women operate would help in developing prevention and coping strategies that emphasize both individual behavioral and environmental change.…”

“…A more alarming situation is the fact that about 3.6% of women age 15-19 were reported to have been infected as well suggesting early sexual debut [5]. While awareness of HIV is relatively high especially among urban populations in Nigeria, it appears that the high level of knowledge of HIV/AIDS has little impact on the myths and misconceptions about HIV transmission [6], and the attendant risk-taking behaviors [7, 8]. Evidence indicates that vast majority of Nigerian women still indulge in risky sexual practices such as having multiple sexual partners, unprotected sex, alcohol and drug abuse, with elevated rates of STIs [7-9].…”

Perceived Barriers to Condom Use among Out-of-School Adolescents in Kumba, Southwest Region of Cameroon

“…The validity was also established by constructing items to represent the different sections of the study topic, based on literature review. The questionnaire was designed as an adaptation from previous studies [9,11,25,26], to collect data on sociodemographic characteristics, perceived barriers to condom use and condom use. A pretest of the questionnaire was done on a convenience sample of 20 out-of-school adolescents of both genders who did not take part in the study proper, for clarity and to ascertain internal consistency.…”