Abstract

Safe sex is sexual activity engaged in by people who have taken precautions to protect themselves against sexually transmitted infections (STIs) such as HIV and their consequences on reproductive health. It is also referred to as protected sex. Unsafe or unprotected sex is sexual activity engaged without precautions.

STIs, including HIV and many other reproductive disorders mainly affect sexually active young people. GTHS Molyko Buea is a school with these characteristics of a very sexually active life style indiscriminately indulged in by teenagers. This study, therefore, was to assess teen’s knowledge on the consequences of unsafe sexual practice on reproductive health.

A cross-sectional study was used to achieve this objective where teenagers from GTHS were conveniently sample to answer the questionnaire.

From the results, 56.25% of the teenagers had once heard of unsafe sex but only 35.2% could correctly identify the definition of unsafe sex. Also, a great majority of the participants (65.6%, 41.7% and 64.6%) respectively admitted that unwanted pregnancies, STIs and compromised chances of getting married were the consequences of unsafe sex.

However, many (55.2%, 59.4% and 69.8%) respectively did not think that school dropout, premature responsibility in cases of teenage pregnancies, and unhappiness were other consequences of unsafe sex. There were varying perceptions on the negative effects of unsafe sexual practice such as unwanted pregnancies; 65.6%, STIs; 41.7% and compromised marriages; 64.6%. The main challenge for practicing safe sexual practices was identified to be to please one’s sexual partner and unplanned sex.

Conclusively, teenagers in Government Technical High School Molyko Buea claim to know about unsafe sexual practices but need to be sufficiently drilled in this aspect. Therefore, if sex education is included in the curriculum of these teenagers’, it will do a lot of good to them and the society at large. Also, parents should start giving sex education to their children at home as they approach reproductive ages (9 to15years).

Religious belief and position in church should not be over emphasize on teenagers and adolescence, because they turn to be scared and go into unprotected sex and endanger their lives.

CHAPTER ONE

INTRODUCTION

1.1. Background

Safe sex is sexual activity engaged in by people who have taken full precautions to protect themselves against Sexually Transmitted Infections (STIs) such as HIV (Chin et al, 2012) and their consequences on the reproductive health. It is also referred as a protected safer sex or, while unsafe or unprotected sex is sexual activity engaged in without precautions, especially forgoing condom use.

Other sources prefer the term safer sex to more precisely reflect the fact that these practices reduce, but do not always completely eliminate or eradicate the risk of disease transmission. The term Sexually Transmitted Infections (STIs) has gradually become preferred over Sexually Transmitted Disease (STDS) among medical sources, as it has a broader range of meaning: a person maybe infected, and may potentially infect others, without showing signs of disease. (Vittinghoff et al, 1999).

The term protected sex (safer sex) in Canada and the United States has gained greater use by health workers reflecting that risk of transmission of Sexually Transmitted Infections in various sexual activities is a continuum. The term safe sex is still in common use in the United Kingdom, Australia and New Zeeland (vittinghof et al., 1999).

Although safe sex is used by individual to refer to protection against both pregnancy and HIV/AIDS, or other STIs. The term was born in response to the HIV/AIDS epidemic. It is believed that the term safe sex was used in the professional literature in 1984, in the content of a paper on the psychological effect the HIV/AIDS may have on homosexual men. The term was related to develop educational programs for the group considered at risk, homosexual men (Vittinghof et al.1999)

The concept of safe sex includes mainly the using condoms but also limiting the number of sexual partners, using prophylactics, avoiding bodily fluid exchange, and resisting the use of drugs that reduced inhibitions for high-risk sexual behaviour (WHO,2008). Moreover, in 1985, the first safe sex guidelines were established by the ‘Coalition for sexual Responsibilities’. According to these guidelines, safe sex was practiced by using condoms also when engaging in anal or oral sex, (WHO, 2008).

Since early eighties, the sexually transmitted infections (STIs) are a great public health concern in the world particularly in developing countries as it enhances the transmission of Human Immuno-Deficiency Virus (HIV). Besides, STIs can have serious consequences on reproductive health and wellbeing of both men and women. Both short and long term sequalae of untreated STIs cause profound biomedical, social and economic impact on individual and communities. Thus the control of STIs is now recognized as a global priority. (WHO, 2008). In 1994, the International Conference on Population and Development (ICPD), held in Cairo, identified the issue as one of the essential component of reproductive health and goal to prevent and reduce the spread of STIs, including HIV/AIDS and to provide treatment for STIs and their complications, such as infertility with special attention to women (ICPD, 1994).

The sub Saharan region, STIs cause a continuing and serious health problem. The overall response to prevent and control the problem is limited some major reasons for limited response are; lack of awareness of the diseases and their consequences, lack of resources, and political and cultural unwillingness to address STIs. In many developing countries an emphasis has been given to the prevention and management of STIs as s part of the prevention component. But little is still known in most countries about the extent of STIs, behaviours (sexual and health seeking), Socio-cultural-economic factors and situations that increases the vulnerability to be infected by STIs and foster or inhibit prevention and management efforts of these diseases. As a consequence, in many places, widespread STIs transmission occur as a result of risk sexual behaviour gender and power imbalance surrounding sexual relationships, shame and stigma, weakness in healthcare systems, which prevent many from avoiding necessary care.

Various terms are used to categorize young people “adolescent” refers to 13-19 years old; “young” refers to 15-24 years old; and “young people refers to 10-24 years olds. In the world today, approximately half of the population is under 25, with 1.8 billion people aged between 10-24 years -90% of whom live in Low- and Middle Income Countries (LMICs) and many experiencing poverty and unemployment (UNFPA 2002). While sexual initiation and sexual activity vary widely by region, country, and sex, in all regions young people are reaching puberty earlier, often engaging in sexual activity at a younger age, and marrying late (Bearinger et al., 2007); consequently, they are sexually mature for longer before marriage than has historically been the case.

Reproductive Tract Infection (RTI) is defined as the infection of either the lower or upper reproductive tract, or both. The infection may or may not be sexually transmitted and caused by organisms, which maybe exogenous, or endogenous (Jeffcoate 1987). According to the source of infection, RTIs can be divided into three major categories (Wasserheit et al, 1992)

1.Sexually transmitted disease e.g. Chlamydia infection, Trichomoniasis, Gonorrhoea, Syphilis, Chancroid, Genital Herpes and Genital Warts.

2.Endogenous infections caused by the overgrowth of organism present in the genital tract of a healthy woman e.g. bacterial vaginosis and vulvo vaginal candidiasis.

3. Iatrogenic infections e.g. infection resulting from such unhygienic medical producers like unsafe abortions (septic abortion), child birth under unhygienic conditions and post-operative infections.

RTI may also result from unhygienic health practices such as use of unclean menstrual protection, poor sexual hygiene, vaginal douching etc. besides if the other two above stated infections are left untreated them could cause PID.

Unsafe sex has strong correlation with STIs and other reproductive disorders. Having unprotected sex and multiple sex partners places the individual at high risk for STIs and reproductive disorders. Many STIs have no symptoms when one is first infected so one may have an infection without knowing it. If one is sexually active, be sure to have regular check-ups that include STIs screenings so if one has an infection it can be detected and treated (if possible) at its earliest stages.

1.2 Statement of the problem

Sexually transmitted Infections (STIs), including HIV (Human Immunodeficiency Virus) and many other reproductive disorders mainly affect sexually active young people. Some teens do not think twice before indulging in unprotected sex, and doing it could be very dangerous to their health, and cause big changes in their lives and the lives of their families. This may be due to ignorance of the relationship between unsafe sex and STIs or reproductive tract infections.

GTHS Molyko Buea is a school with these characteristics of a very sexually active life style indiscriminately involve in by teenagers causing health problems like getting infected with sexually transmitted and reproductive tract infections, changes in their lives like infertility, dropping out of school due to unplanned pregnancies. The lives of their families may be affected or changed by losing a child through unsafe abortion practice due to unwanted pregnancies.

Information about attitudes and knowledge on unsafe sex and STIs is essential to better understand the dispositions that can be taken to curb the ever increasing prevalence of Reproductive Tract Diseases in this school. This information is also important in assessing changes over time as a result of prevention efforts. GTHS Buea is in Molyko community with the highest population being teenagers’ and sexually active influenced by social excitement, reasons why the researcher saw it necessary to carry out a research on “Assessing the knowledge of teenager’s on the consequences of unsafe sexual practice in reproductive health in GTHS.”

1.3 Goal of the study

The purpose of the study was to assess Teens’ Knowledge on the consequences of unsafe sexual practices on Reproductive Health.

1.4 Research Questions

1. What knowledge do teenagers have about unsafe sex?
2. What are the consequences of practising unsafe sex?
3. What are the proposed measures to control unsafe sexual practices?