HIV Risk Perception and Constraints to Protective Behaviour Among Young Slum Dwellers in Ibadan, Nigeria

This study examined the relationship between HIV/AIDS risk perception and protective behaviour among sexually-active urban young slum dwellers in Ibadan, Nigeria. The multistage sampling tech­niques were used for selecting 1,600 respondents aged 15-24 years. Of these, 1,042 (65%) respond­ents who reported unprotected sex in the last three months were selected for analysis. Although the sexually-active respondents demonstrated basic knowledge of HIV/AIDS and high risk perception, risky behaviour was common and protective behaviour was poor. About 48% of 505 males and 12% of 537 females had multiple partners. Similarly, 29% of males and 38% of females were engaged in transactional sex. Only 14% of males and 5% of females used any form of protection, resulting in the high rates of sexually transmitted infections reported by 27% of males and 10% of females. Structural and environmental constraints were identified as barriers to adopting protective behaviour. Therefore, programme and policy interventions should be designed to address the peculiar circum­stances of urban young slum dwellers to curtail the HIV epidemic