Knowledge of HIV prevention and casual sex among sexually active persons in Ghana

Abstract

This study examined the effects of knowledge of HIV prevention and other factors associated with casual sex among sexually active persons in Ghana in the fight against HIV and AIDS. There is a cross-sectional study based on 6,027 individuals; 12-59 years randomly surveyed in all ten regions of Ghana. The question on casual sexual partner focused on whether the respondents had casual sex or not in the last four weeks preceding the survey. Descriptive statistics were used to examine the characteristics of the respondents and a binary logistic regression was employed to analyse the predictors of having a casual sexual partner. The mean age of the respondents was 31.6± 8.8. About 70% were females and more than one-third had Middle/JHS education. The results showed that sex, religion, and marital status were significantly related with casual sex. Males and those who were never married, living together, separated or divorced had higher odds of engaging in casual sex compared to the currently married