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APHA Scientific Session and Event Listing

Chi Chiao, PhD, Department of Public Health, National Cheng Kung University, No. 1, Ta-Hsueh Road, Tainan, 701, Taiwan and Vinod Mishra, PhD, MEASURE DHS, ORC Macro, 11785 Beltsville Drive, Calverton, MD 20705, 301-572-0220, vinod.mishra@orcmacro.com.

Background: Promoting abstinence is a major component of HIV/AIDS prevention campaigns for youth in countries with generalized epidemics. This study examines trends in primary and secondary abstinence among single youth aged 15-24 in Kenya over a ten-year period, with a specific focus on knowledge of abstinence as a means of HIV/AIDS prevention and contextual influences on changing abstinence behavior.

Methods: Data are from three Demographic and Health Surveys in Kenya, conducted in 1993, 1998, and 2003. We use multilevel logistic regression to model the relationship between abstinence knowledge and practice and selected individual- and community-level characteristics. Individual-level characteristics include age, sex, education, marital union, ethnicity, and wealth status. Community-level characteristics include proportion of respondents aged 25-49 with 8+ years of education, proportion of females aged 15-49 currently employed, average household wealth status, social anxiety of AIDS (proportion knowing someone who has died of AIDS), proportion of respondents regularly exposed to mass media, and urban/rural residence.

Results: Preliminary results indicate that both knowledge and practice of abstinence (primary and secondary) have increased rapidly among single Kenyan youth during the ten-year period (1993-2003). Male youth had much lower levels of both abstinence knowledge and practice than female youth in 1993, but this sex difference has narrowed considerably during the ten-year period. Further analysis will examine the influences of individual and community factors on these trends.

Conclusions: The findings will help understand the factors associated with increasing knowledge and practice of abstinence among youth in a sub-Saharan African country with generalized HIV/AIDS epidemic.

Learning Objectives: Learning Objectives

At the end of the presentation, the participant will be able to
• Recognize the importance of abstinence among single youth and its role in HIV prevention.
• Identify the individual and community characteristics that contribute to abstinence behavior change.

Keywords: Sexual Behavior, HIV Interventions

Presenting author's disclosure statement:

Not Answered