Snowledge, attitude and practices on HIV/AIDS, its transmission and prevention among primary school pupils in rural Kisarawe

Objective: To determine level of knowledge of HIV/AIDS and its transmissions, demographic factors influencing level of knowledge, rate of condom use and attitude toward condoms use and sexual activities among primary school pupils Design: Descriptive cross-sectional study Setting: the study was conducted in rural areas of Kisarawe district in Coast region. Six primary schools were involved Subjects: grade six and seven pupils were involved in the study Results: The study involved 334 pupils from five primary schools. 48.8% were males and 51.2% females. Most students were of 15-16 age group. Majority of pupils had high knowledge on HIV/AIDS and its transmission (76%). Males were more knowledgeable than females on prevention (69.9% vs. 61.4%) and results were significant. Forty two percent (42%) of pupils have had sexual intercourse and in most cases with their fellow pupils (57.1%). Age group in which most pupils started to engage in sexual activities was 11 to 14 years (65.7%). 32.9% of pupils were forced into sexual intercourse and females were more coerced than males (58% vs. 15.7%) and results were statistically significant. Only about 28.6% of pupils reported condom use in their last sexual intercourse. Furthermore 61.1% of pupils considered condoms ineffective in preventing HIV transmission. Among interviewed pupils 25 (7.5%) reported to have suffered from STI.