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      Assessing Condom Use and Views on HIV Counselling and Testing among TVET College Students in Limpopo Province, South Africa.

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          Abstract

          South Africa's population is predominantly young, presenting a powerful resource for the country. Despite this, adolescents and young people remain at the epicentre of the HIV epidemic, particularly adolescent girls and young women (AGYW). There are limited studies that investigate the views on HIV Counselling and Testing (HCT) and condom use among adolescents and young people, and college students in particular, in South Africa. This cross-sectional study assessed condom use among college students and their views and opinions on HCT. Utilising an adapted questionnaire from the Australian Secondary students and the South African Sexual Health survey, the data from 396 students were analysed using univariate and multiple logistic regression performed using Stata IC version 16. The majority of the students (n = 339, 85.8%) had a sexual partner at the time of the study. Our findings reveal a relatively high occurrence of condom use in the last sexual encounter (n = 225, 60%) and high HCT uptake (n = 50, 88.4%). Females were generally more comfortable regarding HIV services compared to their male counterparts. More than half, 54.6% vs. 36.0% were comfortable about testing, 34.0% vs. 48.3% felt very scared about testing for HIV, 3.6% vs. 10.1% reported that they were not ready to take an HIV test, 7.6% vs. 5.6% intended getting tested soon (p = 0.0002). Condom use was significantly associated with the use of a condom during the first sexual encounter (aOR = 4.71, 95% CI: 2.14, 10.37) and knowing their partner's HIV status (aOR = 2.08, 95% CI: 1.19-3.65). The HCT and condom promotion strategies implemented by Higher Health in TVET colleges is showing success and colleges in other parts of the region could emulate these best practices. Program developers should consider tailor-made combinations of prevention interventions that would appeal to both female and male college students to improve condom use and uptake of HIV testing services.

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          Author and article information

          Journal
          Int J Environ Res Public Health
          International journal of environmental research and public health
          MDPI AG
          1660-4601
          1660-4601
          Jun 03 2023
          : 20
          : 11
          Affiliations
          [1 ] Department of Epidemiology and Biostatistics, School of Public Health, Sefako Makgatho Health Sciences University, Pretoria Ga-Rankuwa 0208, South Africa.
          Article
          ijerph20116044
          10.3390/ijerph20116044
          10252341
          37297648
          7cfa1ad5-a8a1-4f04-887f-22ce76addd35
          History

          college students,young people,sexual behaviour,condom use,South Africa,HIV,HCT

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