LEARN Lao PDR - Knowledge of Safe Sex and STIs among Students at Vientiane High School, Vientiane Capital, 2019

Abstract

Background: Knowledge of safe sex and STIs is of vital importance for adolescents because adolescents are at a high risk of a number of negative health consequences associated with early and unsafe sexual activities, including STIs, unintended pregnancies and teenage pregnancies. Thus, the aim of this study was to describe the knowledge of safe sex and STIs and to identify related factors about knowledge of safe sex and STIs among students at Vientiane High School, Vientiane Capital, Lao PDR.

Method: This was an analytical cross-sectional study conducted at Vientiane High School from January to February 2019. A standardized self-administered questionnaire was used to collect information from respondents. The questionnaires were completed by 337 respondents who were selected by stratified random sampling. The data collected was entered into and analyzed by the EpiData and Stata 13.0 programs. Descriptive and inferential statistics were applied to determine the factors associated with knowledge of safe sex and STIs.

Results: From the 337 respondents, the results showed that nearly half of the participants (49.5%) had a good knowledge of safe sex and 51.9% of respondents had a good knowledge of STIs. They also found certain factors related significantly to a knowledge of safe sex namely students who lived with other people (AOR=2.5, 95% CI=1.1-5.3), studied about family planning (AOR=1.7, 95% CI=1-2.9) and had religious beliefs which were acceptable to the use of birth control. In addition, the factors positively associated with a knowledge of STIs were students who studied in Grade 12 (AOR=0.3, 95% CI=0.1-0.6), studied about family planning (AOR=1.8, 95% CI=1.0-3.1) and studied about STIs including HIV/AIDS (AOR=5.1, 95% CI=1.9-13.5).

Conclusion: In this study, most of the participants were aware of safe sex and STIs. However, the knowledge of adolescents was inadequate. Barely half of the adolescents had a good knowledge of safe sex and STIs. The key factors associated with a knowledge of safe sex and STIs were studying family planning and STIs topics, and their religious orientation.