Skip to content
Research Article Open access CC BY 4.0

Perceived Sexual Attitudes and HIV/AIDS-Health Seeking Behaviours of People Living in the Fishing Community of Akwa Ibom State, Nigeria

Festus Abasiubong, Alphonsus U. Idung

Journal of Advances in Medicine and Medical Research · pp. 1006–1016 · Published 17 Apr 2015

10.9734/BJMMR/2015/16671

Abstract

Background: Despite the tremendous efforts made to reduce the burden of HIV/AIDS in many countries, there are still gaps in the control of spread of HIV-infection in Nigeria, especially in the coastal areas due to inappropriate life style and preference for traditional care of people living with the disease. Aim: The purpose of this study was to assess the sexual attitudes and HIV/AIDS-healthcare seeking behavi ours of people living in the fishing community of Okposo, Akwa Ibom State, Nigeria. Methods: This was a cross-sectional descriptive study of 600 people living in the fishing community, who were assessed for perceived sexual attitudes and HIV/AID-health care seeking behaviours, using Attitude and Sexual Behaviour Questionnaire. Results: Of the 600 participants, 339 (56.5%) were males and 261 (43.5%) females. Inspite of the increasing awareness of the existence of HIV/AIDS, sexual attitudes were variable and inimical to the fight against the disease; sexual urge was high; 27.7% males and 15.3% females had at least two or more sexual partners; 13.8% males and 10.8% females hardly used condom during sexual intercourse, while 15.5% males and 18.8% females would not undergo HIV testing. Perception on the cause and mode of transmission of HIV/AIDS were poor. Perceived efficacy, confidentiality, affordability and accessibility were reasons for choice of traditional care; about 61.0% of the participants would not attend to infected individuals because of fear of being infected with the virus. Conclusion: This study has shown that a lot still need to be done in Nigeria, especially in areas with difficult terrain to reverse the trend of HIV/AIDS. Massive enlightenment campaigns are necessary to serve as continuous efforts to increase and maintain high levels of motivation for lifestyle modification.

Coastal areas sexual attitude lifestyle care HIV/AIDS

References (27)

  1. 1 Global and regional mortality from 235 causes of death for 20 age groups in 1990 and 2010: a systematic analysis for the Global Burden of Disease Study 2010 [DOI]
  2. 2 Global epidemiology of HIV infection in men who have sex with men [DOI]
  3. 3 An African HIV-1 sequence from 1959 and implications for the origin of the epidemic [DOI]
  4. 4 Emerging Concepts in the Immunopathogenesis of AIDS [DOI]
  5. 5 Unsafe sexual behaviour in South African youth [DOI]
  6. 6 The Lifetime Cost of Current Human Immunodeficiency Virus Care in the United States [DOI]
  7. 7 Prevalence and Correlates of Heterosexual Anal and Oral Sex in Adolescents and Adults in the United States [DOI]
  8. 8 Fisherfolk are among groups most at risk of HIV: cross-country analysis of prevalence and numbers infected [DOI]
  9. 9 Sexual behaviour of adolescents in Nigeria: cross sectional survey of secondary school students [DOI]
  10. 10 Effect of Employment on Quality of Life and Psychological Functioning in Patients With HIV/AIDS [DOI]
  11. 11 Understanding Perceptions of HIV Risk Among Adolescents in KwaZulu-Natal [DOI]
  12. 12 “It's Not What You Know, But Who You Knew”: Examining the Relationship Between Behavior Change and AIDS Mortality in Africa [DOI]
  13. 13 Complementary and alternative medicine use among HIV-positive people: research synthesis and implications for HIV care [DOI]
  14. 14 The Forgotten Fifty Per Cent: A Review of Sexual and Reproductive Health Research and Programs Focused on Boys and Young Men in Sub-Saharan Africa [DOI]
  15. 15 Tobacco use amongst out of school adolescents in a Local Government Area in Nigeria [DOI]
  16. 16 Fatores de proteção relacionados à promoção de resiliência em pessoas que vivem com HIV/AIDS [DOI]
  17. 17 HIV/AIDS awareness and sexual practices among undergraduates in Enugu, Nigeria [DOI]
  18. 18 The X4 Phenotype of HIV Type 1 Evolves from R5 in Two Children of Mothers, Carrying X4, and Is Not Linked to Transmission [DOI]
  19. 19 Relationship between knowledge of HIV/AIDS and sexual behaviour among in-school adolescents in Delta State, Nigeria.
  20. 20 Convergence of behaviour change models for AIDS risk reduction in sub‐Saharan Africa [DOI]
  21. 21 Adolescent sexual and reproductive health needs in Nigeria: shaping a pragmatic and effective response [DOI]
  22. 22 Complementary therapies for the treatment of HIV: in search of the evidence [DOI]
  23. 23 Attitudes and sexual behaviours of unmarried people with HIV/AIDS living in the Niger Delta region of Nigeria.
  24. 24 Sexual Attitudes and Behaviour of Male Secondary School Students in Rural and Urban Areas of Oyo State, Nigeria [DOI]
  25. 25 Sero-Prevalence of HIV Infection Among Commercial Sex Workers in Ibadan, Nigeria [DOI]
  26. 26 A study of drug use in five urban centres in Kenya [DOI]
  27. 27 LIFESTYLE AND PREVALENCE OF HIV/AIDS IN RIVERINE COMMUNITIES IN AKWA IBOM STATE, NIGERIA

Cited by 0

No indexed citations yet.

Related research

Article metrics

Real usage data collected on this platform.

50

Page views

0

PDF downloads

35

Outbound clicks

0

Citations

Views over time

Views by country

Approximate, from request IP at view time — not citizenship or institution. Countries with fewer than 5 views are grouped as "Other".

Traffic sources

Referring site, by host.

Views and downloads exclude known bots/crawlers. Citations combines this platform's own DOI-resolved index with each external source's own reported total — see Cited by above for individually listed citing works. Last refreshed 0 seconds ago.