Assessment of knowledge and sexual behaviour among undergraduates in a Nigerian tertiary institution

The achievement of the Millennium Development Goals (MDGs), particularly goals 5 and 6, is strongly underpinned by the progress that can be made on sexual and reproductive health education of young adults. The large population of young single adults in tertiary institutions in Nigeria and the present dearth of human resources for health necessitates that interventions for this group of individuals are tailored to meet identified gaps in awareness and sexual behaviour. This study sets out to assess the sexual behaviour and practice among single-undergraduates in a tertiary institution in Nigeria.

A descriptive cross sectional study was carried out among 410 consenting students selected through a multistage sampling method. Data was collected using a structured self- administered questionnaire and analysed using Statistical Package for Scientific Solutions (SPSS) version 16.0.

Mean age of respondents was 20 + 4.4 years, 228 (55.6%) were females and 182 (44.4%) males. The respondents' awareness of contraceptive devices was 81.7% (335) for condoms and less than 20% knew about other forms of contraception such as intrauterine device, tubal ligation and vasectomy. Over 65.7% (270) opined abstinence and use of condom to be the ideal methods for prevention of HIV/AIDS/ STI transmission. The overall mean age at first sexual contact was 14.0+1.4((14.2+1.6) in males and (13.8 +1.2) in females). A Very high proportion of sexually active respondents (93.6%) volunteered they do not routinely use condom in their sexual encounter. Undesired pregnancies occurred in about 11% of females.

There is an urgent need for the establishment of specially designated youth friendly centres in the tertiary institutions in the country, manned with staff appropriately trained in the delivery of reproductive health information and services.