ASSESSMENT OF YOUTHS’ KNOWLEDGE ON THE USE OF CONDOM FOR HIV/AIDS PREVENTION IN THE NORTH WEST REGION OF CAMEROON

Introduction: Youth represent the group at highest risk for HIV infection because they engage in risky sexual behaviours such as unprotected sexual intercourse which put them at risk of acquiring HIV/AIDS infection. A multistage cross sectional study was carried out to evaluate the extent of knowledge of youths on the use of condom to prevent HIV/AIDS in the North West Region of Cameroon.

Methods: The study was carried out on 1,120 (690 females and 430 males) students aged 15-24 years who consented to participate in the study from April to June, 2014. The participants were randomly selected with 40 from each of the 28 schools in all the seven divisions of the North West Region. A questionnaire to assess the knowledge of the study population on the use of condom for HIV/AIDS prevention was developed and pretested to 100 students in one of the non-participating schools. Statistical analysis was done using the SPSS version 20 statistical package.

Results: The majority of students (81%) were very knowledgeable about HIV/AIDS transmission and condom use as prevention methods (87%). Although the majority of students knew that the use of the condom can prevent HIV/AIDS transmission, 68.5% said that they will be embarrassed buying condoms. The study revealed that 51.7% had never been taught how to use the condom, while 72.7% had never used condoms during sexual intercourse. There was a good number (67.2%) who believed that promoting condom use is promoting sex.

Conclusion: The lack of knowledge on HIV prevention methods and the high level of misconception, pose a need to intensify the education programmes on HIV/AIDS prevention methods.