Knowledge attitude and practices about condom use among youth aged 18-34 years in Kagoma Parish Buwenge Sub County, Jinja District

Abstract

Worldwide, knowledge of the effectiveness of condoms in preventing HIV transmission is high in most countries however, many people still fail to use them consistently especially those who engage in high risk sexual practices. In Uganda, and Jinja in particular condom use is erratic, partly because they are not always available to users as they are not on the essential drugs list or available but not used because of negative Perception and attitudes. To assess knowledge, attitude and practices about the use of condoms among youth aged 18-34 years in Kagoma parish, a cross-sectional study design quantitative in nature was employed using simple random sampling. A total of 96 respondents were recruited for the study out of which 89 questionnaires were completely filled. 93% of the respondents stated that they had ever heard about condoms, 51% agreed that having sex with a condom is a safe practice and 70% strongly agreed that condoms cause inconvenience during sexual activity. The researcher concluded that, most of the youth were aware about condoms and their use, the main sources of information were the media and hospital, attitudes towards condom use were generally not good as most of the respondents were strongly in agreement that condoms were only good for extramarital sex, cause inconvenience during sexual activity and a man’s penis may be bigger than a condom. Regarding practices about condom use, more than half of the respondents agreed that having sex with a condom was a safe practice although poor practices were reported as well such as that one can put on a condom even after intercourse has begun. It is recommended that increased sensitization is paramount in identifying the myths and misconceptions about condoms use to help break negative attitudes and foster positive change in prevention of STIs and unwanted pregnancies