ASSESSMENT OF KNOWLEDGE, ATTITUDE AND PRACTICES OF YOUTHS TOWARDS PREVENTION OF HIV/AIDS IN IDO LOCAL GOVERNMENT AREA OF OYO STATE

Abstract

The purpose of the study was to assess the knowledge, attitude and practices of youths towards prevention of HIV/AIDS in Ido Local Government Area of Oyo State. The study adopted descriptive research design. The population comprised of all the senior secondary school students in Ido Local Government area of Oyo State. Purposive and simple random sampling techniques were used to select all the participants for this study, while the instrument used to generate data was a self-developed structured questionnaire with a reliability co-efficient of 0.84. The data collected was analysed using descriptive statistics of Pearson Product Moment correlation and multiple regression at 0.05 level of significance. The results revealed that knowledge was significantly and positively correlated with practice of youth towards the prevention of HIV/AIDS (r=0.261, N=100, p<0.05). The study also revealed that attitude was significantly and positively correlated with practice of youth towards the prevention of HIV/AIDS in Ido Local Government Area (r=0.314, N=100, p<0.05).  Based on the findings, it was therefore, recommended that counselling of HIV patients to disclose their status should be continuous. Programmes geared towards behavioural change, should be organized for youths in the society. There should be open communication between youths and the community opinion leaders, counselors and other service providers on the implications of involvement in unprotected sex.