Project Materials

DETERMINATION OF SEX AND AGE RATIO OF STUDENTS WITH STDS ATTENDED TO AT THE UNIVERSITY HEALTH CENTRE

Chapter one

INTRODUCTION

Background of the study

Sexually Transmitted Diseases (STDs), also known as sexually transmitted infections (STIs) and venereal disease (VD), are illnesses that can be communicated between people by sexual behaviour such as vaginal intercourse, oral sex, and anal sex. Sexually transmitted illnesses are types of infectious diseases that are primarily transmitted through sexual interaction.

According to Karnataka and Maharshtra (2002), sexually transmitted diseases are widespread, with a prevalence ranging from one to fourteen percent in vulnerable populations. Sexually transmitted illnesses are quite common, particularly among young adults aged 15 to 24.

According to WHO (2002), early sexual habits enhance young people’s chance of contracting STDs. This sensitivity is the result of biological and behavioural factors.

The biological variables in young women are more related to their sexual anatomy, which is more sensitive to abrasions that allow organisms to enter the body. Adolescents are especially susceptible to STD infections due to their undeveloped reproductive and immunological systems.

According to the Joint United Nations Programme (JUNP, 2001), these youths and even adults have undoubtedly been involved in sex scandals, which have caused them to become infected with venereal diseases.

It is believed that over four million people are infected with sexually transmitted illnesses, and over twenty million people have died as a result of venereal diseases (AWAKE Magazine, 2002). Never in history has there been such a high death rate among young people.

Sexually transmitted illnesses are so pervasive that they are classified as an epidemic, and Africa has a high STD rate. In Nigeria, research on STDs in young people is scarce, despite some evidence that STDs are a common problem in this demographic. According to a study conducted in the country’s rural southeast, adolescent females had a high frequency of STDs (17%).

When one sexually active woman was tested, those aged 17 to 19 had the highest prevalence of Chlamydia (11%), candidiasis (26%), and were also the age group most likely to have had any STD (44%).

Women under the age of 17 had the highest prevalence of trichononiasis (11%), and nearly 20% also had symptomatic candidiasis.

Another study conducted in Urban Port-Harcourt verified the high rates of STDs among adolescents, finding an overall adolescent STD prevalence rate of 14%.

Based on these findings, promoting timely and appropriate health treatments to Nigerian adolescents should be a public health priority. However, little is known about if and where young individuals seek treatment for STDs.

According to evidence from some developing countries, the majority of adolescents who have tested positive for STDs or reported STD symptoms first try to treat their infections themselves or seek treatment from non-professional providers (e.g., traditional healers, patent medicine sellers) before turning to public health clinics or formal health care providers as a last resort.

According to Kristin N. Mmari et al. (2010), female teenagers with self-reported STDs preferred to be treated at a pharmacy, followed by a local healer, spiritual healer, or private practitioners.

There are unique reasons why teenagers and students may find it difficult to seek STD treatment, especially in professional health care settings. First and foremost, many adolescents lack knowledge and understanding of infections and disorders.

According to the 2003 Nigerian Demographic Health Survey, more than 70% of 15 to 19-year-old females and 54% of the same age males were unaware of any STDs.

In other African contexts, young individuals and women were particularly misinformed about developing an STD and struggled to discriminate between normal and abnormal vaginal discharge.

In addition to knowledge and communication limitations, many kids and adolescents just do not want to receive treatment from professional health care practitioners. Some adolescents are timid or humiliated, while others describe various barriers such as the cost of getting medical treatment at public health facilities, as well as the fear that the services would not be secret or that they will meet someone they know at the facility.

Statement of the Problem

Sexually transmitted infections (STDs) have apparently reached alarming levels in several nations, particularly in Sub-Saharan Africa.

The National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases (2003) detected more than twenty STDs. Bacterial infections include Venereal Syphilis, Gonorrhoea, Chlamidia, Candidiasis, HIV/AIDS, and others.

There is inadequate data on the incidence and prevalence of STDs in Nigeria. This is due to underreporting of STDs, which is caused by inadequate diagnostic and treatment facilities, particularly in rural regions, asymptomatic episodes, the stigma associated with having an STD, and limited access to health care services.

The use of traditional healers and self-medication with antibiotics among STD patients contributes to the level of under-reporting and inefficient therapy (Green, 1992).

RESEARCH QUESTIONS:

1. What were the most prevalent STDs detected among students between 2010 and 2013?

2. What was the difference in the prevalence of sexually transmitted diseases (STDs) among male and female students between 2010 and 2013?

3. What was the sex ratio of students with sexually transmitted diseases (STDs) treated at the University Health Centre between 2010 and 2013?

4. What was the age distribution of students treated for sexually transmitted infections (STDs) at the University Health Centre between 2010 and 2013?

PURPOSE OF THE STUDY.

The study’s goal was to identify the most commonly reported cases of sexually transmitted diseases (STDs) among students, to determine differences in the distribution of sexually transmitted diseases (STDs) among male and female students, to determine the sex ratio of students with STDs treated at the University, and to examine the age distribution of students with STDs treated at the University Health Centre.

Significance of the Study

The purpose of this study was to offer necessary information on regularly reported instances of sexually transmitted diseases among students, as well as to develop an effective school-based prevention education program for STD control in the University community.

Limitations of the study

The research focusses on the Ugbowo campus of the University of Benin in Benin City, Edo State, and is thus only applicable to the aforementioned institution.

Limitations of the study

The data on the incidence and prevalence of STDs is insufficient. This is due to underreporting of STDs, which is caused by a lack of diagnosis and treatment facilities, the stigma associated with having an STD, and limited access to healthcare.

The use of traditional healers and self-treatment with antibiotics among STD patients contributes to under-reporting and inefficient therapy.

Definition of Terms

EPIDEMIC: The widespread presence of a disease in a community at a certain moment.

DIAGNOSIS: Identifying a condition based on a patient’s symptoms.

ASYMPTOMATIC: Having no symptoms.

PREVALENCE: The presence or occurrence of something in large numbers.