Abstract:
HIV/AIDS is still of major public health concern. With no vaccine in sight, it is only necessary to take a look at the sexual behaviors and practices of people living with HIV/AIDS.
This study was to determine the sexual behaviors of people living with HIV attending ART clinic at District Hospital, Agbani, Nkanu-west local government area, Enugu state.
METHODOLOGY: This was a descriptive cross sectional study. A systematic random sampling method was used to select 321 participants. Data were collected with the use of simple structured interviewer-administered questionnaire. An ethical approval was obtained for the conduct of the study and individual informed consent gotten from the respondent before the administration of the questionnaire.
RESULT: The mean age of the respondents was 35.87 years. Most of them 238 (74.4%) reported having sex in the last 6 – 12 months. The majority 137 (49.3%) of the respondents had their first sexual contact between the ages of 16- 20. Most of them,(91.9%) had only one sexual partner. About 88.2% of the respondents did not have sex with someone other than their partner(s). Almost all of the respondents 313 (97.5%) knew about condoms, however only 102 (32.4%) used condom all the time, while 134 (42.5%) used condoms sometimes. Most of the participants,95.0% knew about HIV preventive methods There were no significant association between socio-demographics and ever heard of condom. There were statistically significant association between marital status and awareness of non-penetrative methods of sexual intercourse, (p =0.046); sex and awareness of HIV preventive methods, (p =0.005). As well as age in categories (p =0.048) and marital status (p <0.001) with partners’ knowledge of your status.
CONCLUSION: People living with HIV/AIDS adopt safer sexual behavior like having a steady partner. However, a good percentage of them do not use condom consistently. Therefore, the need for consistent use of condom should be adequately addressed to control HIV transmission. There is a high prevalence of sexual activity among people living with HIV/AID. The age of first sexual contact for the majority of the people was in the period of adolescence.
