Knowledge And Practice Of Adolescents In A Mixed Secondary School In Delta State Towards Sexually Transmitted Infections; A Descriptive Cross-Sectional Study

BACKGROUND: Sexual activity among adolescents who are unaware of how to prevent sexually transmitted infections (STI) is of public health importance because they can be asymptomatic with long-term deleterious effects on their sexual and reproductive health. OBJECTIVE: This study aimed to assess the knowledge and practice of adolescents towards sexually transmitted infections. METHODOLOGY: A cross-sectional study design and systematic sampling technique was used in this study. The data collection was analysed using IBM SPSS version 26. P-value < 0.05 was accepted as statistically significant and results were presented in tables. RESULTS: More females (60.1%) participated in the study. Most respondents were aged between 13-15 and 16-19 (48.9%). 47 (20.2%) respondents were sexually active and of this number, most (38.3%) had their first sex between the ages of 16 and 19. 80.7% were aware of the benefits of condoms but only 9% used them. Respondents used mostly drugs (48.5%) and prayers (36.4%) to protect against STIs. The majority correctly identified common STIs while 12.4% incorrectly reported malaria as sexually transmitted. Infertility (56.2%), abdominal pain (45.9%) and abnormal discharge from private parts (56.2%) were recognized by the respondents as complications that can follow STI. CONCLUSIONS: Findings from this study reveal that most adolescents were aware of the symptoms, causes and complications of STIs. However, there is still a need to emphasize correct protection practices against STIs.