Some Ghanaian teenagers think cough can cause AIDS – Study

General News of Sunday, February 3, 2019

Source: Myjoyonline.com

2019-02-03

Ask a teenager what badually transmitted infections are and you will be surprised at the depth of their knowledge of the subject.

This is a conclusion of Dr. Rex Senyo Amedo, then a final year medical student at the Kwame Nkrumah University of Science and Technology.

It sought to badess adolescents' knowledge, perceptions and practices regarding STDs and HIV / AIDS.

"We wanted to know if this reflected their perception of risk and this perception also of safer badual practices," he noted.

Of the 346 students surveyed in the metropolis of Sekondi-Takoradi, only 48% could correctly define STIs.

Adolescent respondents were also involved in three forms of badual practice: oral, bad and penobadl.

Research found that 43% of those who could correctly define STIs felt they were low risk. Only half of the badually active respondents use condoms.

Many teenagers are of the opinion that coughing, sneezing and sharing plates are methods of transmitting HIV.

Dr. Amedo said key stakeholders, Ministries of Health and Education, as well as other stakeholders, were intensifying health education in schools.

"Although we live in a conservative country, we have more teenagers who engage in risky badual behavior. We must be open to having more conversations with them, "he recommends.