RELATIONSHIP BETWEEN KNOWLEDGE AND HEALTH SEEKING BEHAVIOURS FOR SEXUALLY TRANSMITTED INFECTIONS (STI) AMONG YOUNG WOMEN IN UMUAHIA URBAN, ABIA STATE
Chikezie, Salome Chidinma*
ABSTRACT
Sexually Transmitted Infections and HIV/AIDS are prevalent among young women especially those of reproductive ages. Their occurrence could severely compromise women's health, fertility, productivity and survival. Despite the vital role young women play in national development, there are little researches on the assessment of their health-seeking behaviours. This study therefore, investigated some psychological and social factors predicting health-seeking behaviours for sexually transmitted infections among young women in Umuahia Urban, Abia State. One of the factors is knowledge. A descriptive survey research design of an ex-post factor was adopted for the study. Young women who were infected with Sexually Transmitted Infections and were receiving treatment from Government Hospitals in Umuahia Urban,were randomely selected through a randomized equal basis cluster process. A test battery on health-seeking behavior of young women titled: "Women's Perception on Seeking Health Behaviour (WPHSB) was used to collect the data. One hypothesis was tested in the study.multiple regression and r- correlation coefficient was used to analyse the data at 0.05 significance. There was significant relationship between Knowledge and health-seeking behaviours of the subjects.Based on the findings it is recommended that there should be constant evaluation of programmes by all Agencies involved, to assess the level of progress made and provision of better models, for more effective achievement in equipping our adolescent with enough information to protect themselves from the dynamic challenges of sex and its consequences.
Keywords: Relationship,Knowledge, Health Seeking Behaviours, Sexually Transmitted Infections (STI).
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