Knowledge on HIV and its association with sexual behavior among adolescents in Kampala, Uganda.

BACKGROUND

Despite several efforts to educate adolescents about HIV/AIDS in Uganda, many still engage in unsafe behaviors, putting them at risk of HIV infection.

OBJECTIVE

We aimed to assess the level of HIV knowledge and associated factors and establish association with sexual behavior among 13 to 19-year-old adolescents living in an urban division in Kampala district.

METHODS

We conducted a cross-sectional study among 976 adolescents selected through multistage sampling and administered one pretested questionnaire to collect data. We analyzed the data using Stata version 14.0.

RESULTS

Knowledge on HIV was moderate (mean score = 11.30, SD= 2.91), and it was not associated with sexual behavior (OR= 0.97, p-value = 0.565). HIV knowledge was associated with age, school status, and knowledge of HIV status.

CONCLUSIONS

Knowing about HIV did not imply engaging in safe sex practices. There is, therefore, a need to encourage adolescents to adopt safe sexual behavior in the fight against HIV.