Attitude and practice of secondary school students towards voluntary counselling and testing in Mwanza, North-West Tanzania
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Joshua Majeshi
Abstract
Objectives
Voluntary Counselling and Testing (VCT) has become popular in many parts of the world, especially in Africa, for people to learn about their HIV status and get motivation for positive sexual behaviour change. Our study explored the attitude and practice of secondary school students towards VCT.
Methods
A cross-sectional descriptive study was conducted in Magu, Mwanza, North-West Tanzania. Recorded information included sex, factors promoting or hindering VCT attendance, reasons why attending VCT is necessary, awareness of VCT locations and source of information.
Results
Of the 340 students interviewed, 93.2 % knew that VCT was necessary and had reasons such as getting Human Immunodeficiency Virus/Acquired Immunodeficiency Syndrome (HIV/AIDS) education, checking HIV status and getting advice if found to be HIV positive. The majority (74.4 %) knew the location of the VCT centres. However, only 20.3 % made use of the VCT services. Those who did not use VCT services had reasons such as time limitations, believing they were not infected and fear of being labelled HIV positive.
Conclusions
Our study shows that most secondary school students know that VCT is necessary and the locations of the VCT centres, but only a few use VCT services. More effort should be put into educating students and society on the importance of using VCT services.
Acknowledgments
The authors thank all principals of secondary schools in Magu District for allowing this study to be carried out in their schools. We also thank them for assisting us in one way or another during the whole period of data collection. We also acknowledge all the students in Magu district who have participated in this study for their time and cooperation. Finally, the authors thank the Tanzania Higher Education Student’s Loan Board (HESLB) for financially supporting this project.
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Informed consent: Verbal informed consent was obtained from all who consented to participate in the study. Confidentiality of respondents’ information and beliefs was maintained throughout the study. No names appeared on the data collection tool as one way of maintaining confidentiality.
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Ethical approval: Ethical approval was obtained from the University of Dar es Salaam, Mbeya College of Health and Allied Science (UDSM-MCHAS) ethics sub-committee. The study was authorised by the Regional and District administration after requesting permission.
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Author contributions: Joshua Majeshi designed the study, conducted the study and contributed to data analysis. Clement N. Mweya designed the study and prepared the original manuscript. All authors contributed to subsequent revisions. All authors read and approved the final manuscript.
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Competing interests: The authors state no competing of interest.
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Research funding: The study was carried out as part of a Doctor of Medicine (MD) research project by Joshua Majeshi at the University of Dar es Salaam, Mbeya College of Health and Allied Sciences (UDSM-MCHAS). The project received internal financial support from the Tanzania Higher Education Student’s Loan Board (HESLB). No external funding was received for this work.
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© 2023 Walter de Gruyter GmbH, Berlin/Boston
Articles in the same Issue
- Frontmatter
- Original Articles
- Digital consumer behaviour: insights into the perceptions of late adolescents’ consumption of digital media on cognitive health
- Attitude and practice of secondary school students towards voluntary counselling and testing in Mwanza, North-West Tanzania
- Vulnerability analysis of Haitian adolescent girls before pregnancy: a qualitative study
- Characteristics of Malaysian 16-year-old girls who reported regular binge eating episodes and the associated risk factors: a descriptive study
- Short Communication
- The intersection of technology and mental health: enhancing access and care
Articles in the same Issue
- Frontmatter
- Original Articles
- Digital consumer behaviour: insights into the perceptions of late adolescents’ consumption of digital media on cognitive health
- Attitude and practice of secondary school students towards voluntary counselling and testing in Mwanza, North-West Tanzania
- Vulnerability analysis of Haitian adolescent girls before pregnancy: a qualitative study
- Characteristics of Malaysian 16-year-old girls who reported regular binge eating episodes and the associated risk factors: a descriptive study
- Short Communication
- The intersection of technology and mental health: enhancing access and care
