Condom use research findings discussed

Hohoe, July 28, GNA - A dissemination workshop, on Operational Socio-cultural Research on Condom Utilization Among Young People in Ghana dubbed Youth Condom Utilization Project (YouthCUP) was held at Hohoe on Thursday.

YouthCUP project was aimed at addressing gaps in understanding the impact of various condom-programming messages on sexually active out-of-school youth in the 15-24 years age group in selected communities in the Volta region.

The research work was undertaken by the Ghana Social Marketing Foundation (GSMF) International in collaboration with the Programme for Appropriate Technology in Health (PATH) and funded by the UNFPA, Ghana, and Country Office.

Sites included in the research were, Likpe Mate and Likpe Bakua where fertility management or pregnancy prevention was tested, with Dabala area experimenting on sexually transmitted infections (STIs) and HIV prevention.

The Dzodze area investigated both pregnancy prevention and risks of STIs whilst Wegbe/Koloenu served as a passive control group. A Respondent-Driven Sampling (RDS) approach was deployed as the method in a four-month research period; in intervention activities such as quiz competitions, musical shows, drama, football and fun games. Mr Geoffery Anno, Information Services Manager of GSMF, said its findings showed that, using a single message focused on pregnancy prevention could lead to increased condom use, reinforced joint condom decision-making and negotiation skills among out-of-school young people. He noted that consistency in condom promotion messaging was crucial.

Mr Anno said at the post-intervention survey, it was realized that 406 out of 541 respondents' out-of-school young people were already sexually active with 304 of them having had sex in the last three months. A total of 212 respondents used condoms whilst 92 did not.

He said it was attested that promiscuity was high among young people and therefore the religious concerns in relation to condom use be reviewed, noting that 75 percent of the youth sampled, 90 percent of whom were Christians had had sex in the last three months.

He said 66 percent of respondents sampled have bought and used condoms at last sex from pharmacy or chemist shop, with 14 percent of condom users experiencing a condom split or burst.

Mr Anno outlined variable sample size among sites, intervention period being too short to fully assess behaviour change and the required refined recruitment strategy for peri-urban areas as limitations to the survey.

Mr Samuel Asiedu, YouthCUP Project Coordinator, said reliable estimates of the prevalence of condom-based behaviour and attitudes were not available, hence necessitating the research.

He said this made it difficult to understand the magnitude of risk for pregnancy, HIV/AIDS and STIs among this population.

Dr Robert Mensah, a representative of UNFPA said his outfit was collaborating with development partners and the private sector to collectively resolve the myriads of maternal and reproductive health problems plaguing womenfolk and especially children.

He said the UNFPA was poised to working continuously to improve the situation in 40 districts across Volta, Central, Northern, Upper East and Western regions between 2006-2010.