Voluntary testing for HIV among a sample of Tanzanian teachers: a search for socio-demographic and socio-psychological correlates.

Knowledge of HIV status is paramount in prevention, treatment and care. This study determined the prevalence and factors associated with testing for HIV. We collected data through a cross-section questionnaire survey among 918 primary school teachers in Mwanza region, Tanzania (mean age 38.4 years). About 20% (181) of the participants had voluntarily tested for HIV. Teachers who: were aged between 21 to 30 years, had easy access to HIV testing services, had a partner with tertiary education, and perceived their health status positively were significantly more likely to have tested for HIV. Teachers who had tested for HIV were significantly less likely: to perceive that it is not necessary to test for HIV in absence of vaccine or cure for HIV/AIDS; to support that only people who suspect that they are HIV infected should test for HIV; and to believe that HIV infected people are likely to die quicker if they are tested for HIV and be informed about their positive results. The results of this study underscore the need to promote positive views of voluntary testing for HIV among Tanzanian teachers.

Health services utilisation among secondary school students in Arusha region, Tanzania.

OBJECTIVE: To investigate patterns and determinants of health services utilisation by secondary school students. DESIGN: A cross-sectional survey. SETTING: Twelve secondary schools located within seven districts of Arusha region Tanzania. PARTICIPANTS: Three thousand six hundred and three students proportionately selected from the twelve schools according to enrolment size. MAIN OUTCOME MEASURES: Self-reported use of modern and traditional health services within the past two years. RESULTS: The majority (77%) of the students used only modern health services while very few (1.3%) used only traditional services. Fever was the main reason for seeking health care during the last visit. Respondents who used traditional services expressed lower level of satisfaction with the services than those who used modern services. Living situation and socio-economic status of respondent's family predicted utilisation of modern health services whereas self-rated health status and perception that poverty was a threat against one's health predicted utilisation of traditional health services. CONCLUSIONS: Since most of secondary school students use modern health services, improvement of the modern health system is likely to benefit this population. Further work is needed to elucidate factors that facilitate or impede use of health services by young people in Tanzania.

AIDS education in Tanzania: focus on school children.

Tanzania is one of the countries most severely affected by the HIV/AIDS epidemic. A number of local AIDS education efforts have been launched over the past decade, several of which have yielded measurable, positive outcomes. Despite these successes, many barriers to effective dissemination of AIDS information exist, and large population groups still lack basic information on how to protect themselves from infection. Although effective school-based AIDS education programs are available, these have yet to be implemented consistently and persistently throughout the public school system, where the majority of adolescents can be reached.

Sexual debut and predictors of condom use among secondary school students in Arusha, Tanzania.

A cross-sectional survey was conducted using interviews among 852 students attending seven secondary schools in the Arusha region, Northern Tanzania, to predict determinants of sexual debut and recent condom use among students. Schools were sampled according to location, school size and ownership criteria. Subjects were randomly sampled within grade-level and gender through use of class registers. Altogether, 528 students were sexually active. Males were more likely than females to report their sexual debut status (82.0% versus 33.3%; OR = 8.78; 95% CI: 6.17-12.49). Among males, incidence of sexual debut increased with grade-level, but decreased according to religious affiliation. None of the socio-demographic predictor variables used in this study had a significant association with sexual debut among females when age was controlled for. Of the sexually active students, 26.8% reported having ever used a condom and 21.5% reported use of condoms during their most recent sexual encounter. Late sexual debut, prolonged duration of dating before intercourse and having only one sex partner were significantly associated with increased condom use during the most recent occasion. Condom use increased with levels of education, but gender was not significantly linked to increased condom use. Condom use was particularly infrequent among casual sex partners. We observed a marked gender difference among students with respect to their sexual debut status, but no such difference was found in relation to condom use.

PIP: A cross-sectional survey conducted among 528 sexually active secondary school students in Northern Tanzania identified marked gender differences in terms of predictors of sexual debut status but not in relation to condom use. A sexual behavior survey was conducted in seven secondary schools (two urban, three semi-urban, and two rural) in Arusha in 1993. At least 20% of students at each school were randomly selected (after stratification by gender and grade level) for participation, resulting in a sample of 849 students (501 males and 348 females); 411 of these males and 115 females reported they were sexually active. Sexual debut status among male students was positively associated with increasing age, school forms three and four, and Roman Catholic religious affiliation; among female students, age was the only significant predictor. 141 (26.8%) of sexually active students had ever used condoms, and 111 (21.5%) had used them at last intercourse. No gender differences were observed in condom use. Condom use at most recent intercourse was significantly associated with higher level of education, delayed sexual debut, prolonged duration of dating before intercourse, and having only one sexual partner.

Relationship between sexual experience and non-sexual behaviours among secondary school students in Arusha, Tanzania.

A sexual behaviour study was conducted among 655 secondary school students to assess the association between sexual experience and non-sexual behaviours. Among students aged 15-19 years, the prevalence of nonvirginity increased with age, from 58.8% to 85.6% for males, and from 21.9% to 44.9% for females. Sexual experience correlated positively with measures of problem behaviours (r = .31) and negatively with a measure of church or mosque attendance (r = -.09). Overall, the relationship between sexual experience and non-sexual behaviours demonstrated the conventionality-unconventionality polarity suggested by problem behavior theory. The observed relationships were relatively stronger at young ages and declined with increasing age, suggesting the developmental functions of these behaviours. Hence, the relations between sexual experience and non-sexual behaviours provided empirical support of the potential utility of the theory of problem behaviour in HIV/AIDS prevention and control among students in Arusha, Tanzania.

Perception and utilisation of malaria prophylaxis among pregnant women in Dar es Salaam, Tanzania.

Knowledge, perception and utilisation of malaria prophylaxis were assessed among pregnant women attending antenatal care clinic in Dar es Salaam, Tanzania. Of the 301 women interviewed, 71.1% reported having used chloroquine prophylaxis while 28.9% did not. Women with high knowledge of malaria were more likely to use malaria prophylaxis than those with low knowledge. However, there was no significant association between knowledge of malaria and perceived effectiveness of the various methods of malaria control. Chloroquine side effects and perceived lack of protective effect against malaria were mentioned as causes of failure to use chloroquine prophylaxis. Fear of chloroquine-induced pruritus accounted for the largest proportion (49.4%) of women who reported having failed to use chloroquine prophylaxis. Occurrence of malaria episodes was reported to be similar among users and non-users of malaria prophylaxis probably due to inconsistent use of malaria prophylaxis and reduced chloroquine sensitivity of malaria parasites. It is suggested that, in addition to chemoprophylaxis, pregnant women should be encouraged to use bednets in combination with mosquito repellents throughout the course of pregnancy.