ABSTRACT
The epidemiology of sexually transmitted diseases suggests a heightened risk for young adults, especially university students. Unsafe sexual behaviors are one of the high risk factor for HIV transmissions. The study aimed to explore high risk behaviors associated with HIV/AIDS among health science student in Konya, Turkey. A cross-sectional survey was conducted in October 2016 among 246 undergraduate students in Health Science faculty, Necmettin Erbakan University. A self-administered standard questionnaire was used for data collection. Socio-demographic distribution was described using frequency and percentage and Chi-square test was used for analysis of the risk factors. Among the 246 participants in this study, the mean age of the participants was 19.8 ± 1.7, ranged from 18 to 38 years old. Majority of the respondents were female 76% (187). There were 84 (34.1%) respondents from department of nursing, 78 (31.7%) of them were from department of Health Management, 61 (28.8%) of them were from department of social work and 23 (9, 3%) of them were from department of nutrition and dietetics. 13.3% of all respondents had at least 1 risk behavior related to HIV/AIDS transmission. About 4% reported having unprotected sex (sex without condom); 2.4 % had unprotected sex more than 1 sexual partner; 1.4 % had unprotected sex with someone whose HIV status is unknown; 2.8 % had sex with sex workers, and 2.8% had sex under the influence of alcohol; 2.4% had sex by forced against their will. The study found that 13.3% of them reported having at least one high-risk behavior related to sex and unprotected sex.