| Title: |
HIV, syphilis and sexual-risk behaviours’ prevalence among in-and out-of-school adolescent girls and young women in Zambia: A cross-sectional survey study |
| Authors: |
Musonda, Patrick; Halwiindi, Hikabasa; Kaonga, Patrick; Ngoma-Hazemba, Alice; Simpungwe, Matildah; Mweemba, Mable; Tembo, Chowa; Zyambo, Cosmas; Chisoso, John; Munakampe, Margaret; Choonga, Powell; Ngalamika, Owen; Musukuma, Mwiche; Chavula, Malizgani P.; Sichula, Noah; Mweemba, Oliver; Zulu, Joseph Mumba; Phiri, Henry |
| Contributors: |
Katbi, Moses; Global Fund to Fight AIDS, Tuberculosis and Malaria |
| Source: |
PLOS ONE ; volume 19, issue 6, page e0294545 ; ISSN 1932-6203 |
| Publisher Information: |
Public Library of Science (PLoS) |
| Publication Year: |
2024 |
| Collection: |
PLOS Publications (via CrossRef) |
| Description: |
Background In Zambia, 3.8% of young women and men aged 15–24 are HIV positive. However, like in most developing nations, HIV prevalence is higher among young women than young men (5.6% versus 1.8%). Despite the recognition of the rights of young people to sexual reproductive health (SRH) information and services, adolescent and young people (AYP) still face challenges in accessing healthcare in public health institutions including access to comprehensive knowledge on HIV/AIDs, HIV testing and contraceptives. The overall objective of the study was to collect baseline HIV, SRH and gender based violence (GBV) data at district level to inform the design of interventions targeting adolescent girls and young women (AGYW) aged 10–24 years in 20 districts of Zambia. Methods A cross-sectional, mixed-methods study was conducted in 20 districts of Zambia with the highest incidence of HIV. Data was collected between August and October 2022 with a total response rate of 92% (12,813/13960), constituting 5979 (46.7%) in-school and 6834 (53.3%) out-of-school participants. Results Overall, Mwinilunga, Chinsali, Chisamba and Chembe districts had the highest number of respondents, while Sinazongwe and Mungwi districts contributed the least. The overall age distribution was such that 12.6% (n = 1617) of those interviewed were aged 10 to 14 years, 35.4% (n = 4536) were aged 15–19 years, and 52.0% (n = 6660) were aged 20–24 years. The overall mean age at first sex among AGYW interviewed was 16.6 years which was broken down as follows: 16.2 years for in-school and 16.8 years for out of school. Overall, most of the respondents had first time sex with either their boyfriend (80.4%) or husband (15.6%), with 2.4% of the in-school participants reporting to have had their sexual debut in marriage compared to 21.0% among out-of-school AGYW. Prevalence of HIV was higher in the out-of-school compared to the in-school participants (5.5% vs 2.0%), Similarly, the prevalence of syphilis was higher in the out-of-school than the in-school ... |
| Document Type: |
article in journal/newspaper |
| Language: |
English |
| DOI: |
10.1371/journal.pone.0294545 |
| Availability: |
https://doi.org/10.1371/journal.pone.0294545; https://dx.plos.org/10.1371/journal.pone.0294545 |
| Rights: |
http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/ |
| Accession Number: |
edsbas.9F6FB069 |
| Database: |
BASE |