Determining the level of condom use and associated factors among married people in Tshwane District of South Africa

Abstract

Introduction despite the wide availability of free male condoms in South Africa, high rates of new HIV transmissions are reported to occur among married couples. The aim of this study was to determine the level of condom use among the married people and to assess the factors associated with condom use in the Tshwane district of the Gauteng province. Methods a cross-sectional study was conducted among 325 clients accessing health care services at the Steve Biko Academic Hospital. A self- administered questionnaire was used to collect data, which were entered onto an Excel spreadsheet and imported into Epi info version 7 for analysis. A logistic regression model was used to investigate the association between condom use and the explanatory variables. The odds ratio was used to measure the strength of the associations. The 95% CI and a cut-off point of 0.05 for the p-value were used to indicate statistical significance. Results the mean age of the participants was 41.6 years (SD=7.7). Two hundred and seventy-six (276; 85%) of the 325 participants reported not using condoms. Trust, doing regular HIV testing, and refusal by the husband were among the reasons given for not using condoms. In this study it was found that, the level of education, age and employment status were the determinants of condom use. Conclusion the level of condom use was low and sero-discordance was found to be the primary motivator for condom use. This study recommends the strengthening of and the widespread implementation of the CVCT service.

Effect of comprehensive knowledge of HIV on risky sexual behaviours associated with HIV transmission among adult Ugandans: a propensity score-matched analysis

“…Consistent with our results, a recent study conducted among sexually active men in Nigeria 33 show that Open access knowledge of equally improved condom use. Another study conducted among South African married couples reported that females are less likely to use a condom if their male partner has refused to use a condom, 34 suggesting male dominance or power imbalance between women and men in condom negotiation. In our context, this finding could be explained by sociocultural differences between men and women, with the latter being inherently submissive to the sexual demands of the latter.…”