Mental health and HIV sexual risk behaviour among University of Limpopo students

Background. Little attention has been paid to the role of poor mental health among young people with regard to HIV risk behaviour and HIV prevention in Africa. Objective. To determine the association between mental health; substance use and HIV sexual risk behaviour among a sample of university students in South Africa. Methods. A cross-sectional survey was conducted among undergraduate students who were recruited conveniently from public campus venues at the University of Limpopo Medical University of Southern Africa (Medunsa) campus. The sample included 722 university students (57.6 men and 42.4women) with a mean age of 21.7 years (standard deviation _}8.8). Results. Of the 722 students; 39.5 reported depression; 23.4 screened positive for post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD); 22 reported hazardous or harmful alcohol use; 33 reported .2 sexual partners in the past 12 months; 50 reported inconsistent condom use; 46 reported unknown HIV status of a sexual partner and 20 reported alcohol use in the context of sex in the past 3 months. In multivariate analysis; HIV risk behaviour was associated with; among men; hazardous or harmful alcohol use and having screened positive for PTSD; and among women; being in the 4th or more year of study and current cannabis use. Conclusion. Poor mental health; including substance use; was found to be associated with HIV risk behaviour. Co-ordinated mental health and sexual and reproductive health services that meet the needs of university students would be desirable

Alcohol use and associated factors among adolescent students in Thailand / El uso de alcohol y factores asociados entre los estudiantes adolescentes de Tailandia

OBJECTIVE: Alcohol misuse is a relevant public health issue in Thailand. The assessment of the prevalence of alcohol use among adolescents may guide policies and programmes aimed at reducing alcohol use among this age group. METHOD: Using data from the Thailand Global School-based Student Health Survey (GSHS) 2008, we assessed the prevalence of alcohol use and the associated factors among adolescents (n = 2758). RESULTS: Overall, the prevalence of current alcohol use was 14.8% (21.2% males and 9.3% females). Variables positively associated with the outcome in multivariable analysis among boys were older age, other substance use (smoking and illicit drug use), sex in the past 12 months, physical fighting, injury in the past 12 months; and among girls, poverty, smoking, physical fighting and lack of parental or guardian connectedness. CONCLUSION: Efforts to prevent and control alcohol misuse may need to address a cluster of risk behaviours including cigarette smoking.

OBJETIVO: El abuso del alcohol es un problema de salud pública importante en Tailandia. La valoración de la prevalencia del uso de alcohol entre los adolescentes puede guiar las políticas y programas encaminados a reducir el uso del alcohol entre este grupo etario. MÉTODO: Usando datos de la Encuesta Mundial de Salud Escolar (GSHS) 2008, efectuada en Tailandia, se evaluó la prevalencia del uso del alcohol y los factores asociados, entre los adolescentes (n = 2758). RESULTADOS: En general, la prevalencia del uso del alcohol corrientemente fue 14.8% (21.2% varones y 9.3% hembras). Las variables positivamente asociadas con el resultado del análisis multivariable entre los muchachos fueron: tener más edad, uso de otra sustancia (hábito de fumar y uso ilícito de droga), sexo en los últimos 12 meses, pelea física, lesión en los últimos 12 meses. Entre las muchachas estas variables fueron: la pobreza, el hábito de fumar, la pelea física, y la falta de relación con los padres o los tutores. CONCLUSIÓN: Los esfuerzos por prevenir y controlar el abuso del alcohol entre los adolescentes pueden llevar a la necesidad de abordar una serie de comportamientos de riesgo, incluyendo el hábito de fumar.

Awareness; and Use of and Barriers to Family Planning Services among Female University Students in Lesotho

Background. Unwanted pregnancy and sexually transmitted infections among young women can be prevented through effective use of contraception. Unmet need for contraception in developing world and rates of unintended pregnancy among young women is high. Aim. To assess the level of awareness of contraceptives and utilization of family planning services among young women and barriers that hinders effective use of such services. Methods: In a quantitative descriptive survey 360 female undergraduate students of the National University of Lesotho; Roma; Lesotho respondent to a hand delivered self-administered questionnaire. Results: Awareness of family planning is high (98.3). Condom is the most commonly known and used family planning method. Level of sexual experience and contraceptive prevalence is high. Access to services is good but there are misconceptions. Married status is associated with current use; positive perception on health benefit while formal teaching on family planning is associated with misconceptions. Conclusion: The level of awareness and utilization of family planning services is high among female students of University of Lesotho. There is the need to introduce family planning teaching that is based on accurate knowledge to school curriculum

HIV Counselling and Testing Utilisation and Attitudes of Male Inmates in a South African Prison

The Department of Correctional Services Policy on the management of HIV and AIDS for offenders include voluntary counselling and testing (VCT) for HIV as one of the priorities in the rehabilitation of inmates. The aim of this study was to determine factors associated with the utilisation of VCT services in the correctional centres in terms of level of satisfaction; their experiences and expectations; and motivating factors and barriers for VCT utilisation at Losperfontein Correctional Centre; South Africa. This was a case control study (cases being those who underwent testing and controls those who did not) examining predictors of HIV VCT utilisation among 200male adult sentenced inmates serving medium and maximum sentences. Results indicate that a poor health system (OR=0.34; 95CI:0.23 - 0.50) was inversely associated with HIV testing acceptance in prison; while age; educational level; population group; marital status; length of incarceration and access to HIV testing in prison were not associated with HIV testing acceptance in prison. Half of the participants (50) agreed that VCT services are accessible and are promoted at their correctional centre. Most were satisfied with different components of VCT services; ranging from 79 (fair to very good) for 'the way he/she received you' to 62 'clarified all your concerns'. This study demonstrated some challenges and benefits to the field of health promotion and HIV prevention in the correctionalcentres especially with regard to VCT services

Effect of Exposure to Clinic-Based Health Education Interventions on Behavioural Intention to Prevent Mother-to-Child Transmission of HIV infection

HIV and AIDS incidence among infants in South Africa is on the increase. The uptake of prevention of motherto-child transmission (PMTCT) interventions is often said to be dependent on the beliefs and educational needs of those requiring PMTCT services. This study therefore sought to examine the effect of clinic-based health education interventions (HEI) on behavioural intention of PMTCT among 300 pregnant women from 4 primary health care clinics in Tshilidzini Hospital catchments area; South Africa. An interview schedule was used to obtain information regarding participants' demographic characteristics; level of exposure to clinic-based HEI; salient beliefs and behavioural intention on PMTCT. The major findings included that approximately 85 of the participants had heard of PMTCT. There was very little association between frequency of antenatal clinic (ANC) visits and level of exposure to PMTCT information. Condom use had the lowest set of salient belief scores. Control belief was the most common belief contributing to behavioural intention. Generally; the association between PMTCT salient beliefs and behavioural intention was weak. Clinic-based HEI had an impact on behavioural intention of HIV testing; normative belief of regular ANC visit and nevirapine use. The vital contribution of alternative PMTCT information sources such as the radio and television was observed. Enhancing initiatives that empower women; and a better coordination of the existing HEI through better implementation of health education strategy may strengthen the prevailing moderate PMTCT intention in the area investigated