Knowledge, Preventive Practices and Occurrence of Sexually Transmitted Infections among Female Undergraduate Students in North-Central Region of Nigeria

Background: Sexually Transmitted Infections (STIs) pose a significant global public health challenge as they are a major cause of acute illnesses, infertility, disabilities and death among men and women, particularly among adolescents and young adults than any other age group. Objectives: This study assess the knowledge, preventive practices, and occurrence of sexually transmitted infections (STIs) among female undergraduate students. Methods: A descriptive cross-sectional study design was conducted among 415 respondents using the convenient sampling technique. Relevant data were collected using a semi structured questionnaire that covers aspects of the research objectives and all questionnaires were retrieved and analysed using descriptive and inferential at a p-value< 0.05 level of significance. Result: This study revealed that more than half (56.4%) of the respondents were between 21-25years of age and the mean ± S.D was 23.32 ± 4.285. Majority (84.6%) have a good knowledge, 9.2% have a fair knowledge and 6.3% have a poor knowledge; more than half (57%) of the participants demonstrated a good level of preventive practices. 12.8% of the respondents had ever contracted a sexually transmitted infection with gonorrhea being the most prevalent accounting for 67.9% of all cases. It was also deduced that the level of knowledge of respondents on STIs had no significant influence on their preventive practices with a p-value of 0.407. However, level of knowledge had a significant influence on occurrence of STIs among respondents with p-value of 0.017.