Prevalence of HIV/AIDS and Preventive Practices among Street Children in Jimma Town, southwest Ethiopia

Abstract

Background: The life and health of street children are becoming a global concern. Street children are vulnerable to a variety of health related problems; moreover children are vulnerable to HIV/AIDS and all kinds of health risks. This study assessed the prevalence of HIV and preventive practice among street children in Jimma town, southwest Ethiopia. Age, sex; educational level, socioeconomic status, and risky sexual behavior with being HIV positive and consistent condom use were assessed. Methods: A community-based cross-sectional study was conducted following preliminary survey 312 of the street a child living in Jimma town, assent and consent taken an assessment of prevalence was estimated HIV and preventive practice voluntary counseling and testing data were collected, descriptive static applied independent sample t-test also applied. Results: In this study preliminary survey 463 included from that due exclusion criteria 312 were involved in the study. The prevalence of HIV among street children in the age group of 12 to 18 years in Jimma town according to this study was found to be 2.9 % in males, the HIV prevalence was 2.58 %, whereas in females it was 0.32 % respectively, out of the total street children 54.5% of respondents had sexual intercourse in their lifetime among this 80.6 % had more than one lifetime sexual partner. Of the total participant 80% of the respondents had heard about AIDS. Conclusion: A high prevalence of HIV/AIDS and risky sexual behaviors were observed among street children in Jimma town. Developing special programs to improve the sexual health behavior of these street children is highly recommended.