ATTITUDE OF UNDERGRADUATE STUDENTS TOWARDS HIV VOLUNTARY COUNSELING AND TESTING
CHAPTER ONE
1.0 THE STUDY’S BACKGROUND
According to the Joint United Nations Program on HIV/AIDS, there are currently 39.4 million people living with HIV worldwide, with 4.9 million new cases of HIV infection each year and 3.1 million deaths from AIDS. The top three locations for the approximately 40 million people infected with HIV/AIDS worldwide are in Sub-Saharan Africa, with 25.4 million cases,
followed by 9.6 million combined cases in Asia and Eastern Europe, and 1 million cases in North America. Between 2002 and 2004, there was a significant increase in HIV inflections in East Asia, Eastern Europe, and Central Asia, according to a joint report on the AIDS pandemic by UNAIDS and the WHO.
Since the discovery of HIV/AIDS, many World Health Organizations have reported frightening increases in the virus’s and syndrome’s prevalence rates, particularly among adolescent and youths. Half of newly HIV-infected people are around 15,000. 6,000 per day, and they are mostly adolescents, under which undergraduates fall. This alarming rate of HIV/AIDS spread also includes Nigeria, where approximately 5.4 percent of adults (ages 15-49) are infected.
University of Lagos, Akoka, Nigeria, with a population of about 35,000 people from 100 different cultures and ethnic backgrounds. Student life at the University of Lagos is very active and dynamic, and because these students are youths, it is common to find them with common interests, which can lead to the best of times, the worst of times, or a time of marvelous new birth as a result of the friendship ties that are formed between boys and girls and that are frequently centered around sex.
HIV voluntary testing is a process in which an individual willingly agrees to take an HIV test and, prior to the test, is counseled, with the goal of enabling the client to cope with stress and make personal decisions about HIV/AIDS. Counseling is provided to prevent further
HIV transmission and to provide psychosocial support to those who are infected. Following the counseling, an HIV antibody test is performed to determine the presence of HIV antibodies in the blood, followed by post-test counseling based on the test results.
According to research, undergraduate attitudes toward HIV voluntary testing are a critical factor in determining the HIV status of a population in a country like Nigeria, which is listed as having low levels of knowledge about safe sex and HIV.
For example, students who cultivate a negative attitude toward voluntary testing are pure evidence that their perception of HIV/AIDS IS very poor. As a result, there is a need for intense advocacy for voluntary counseling and testing, and all undergraduates should strive to willingly go for voluntary HIV testing, which will aid in curbing the increasing number of HIV transmissions.
In the current state of the HIV/AIDS pandemic, voluntary counseling and testing is critical, and it is urgently needed, particularly among undergraduates, who are viewed as a vulnerable group and are constantly influenced by the environment in which they live, particularly among their peers. As a result, there is a need for this research to determine the attitude of University of Lagos undergraduates toward HIV voluntary testing.
1.2 PROBLEM STATEMENT
Since the discovery of this killer virus, reports have shown a frightening increase in the prevalence rates of the virus and syndrome, particularly among adolescent and young people. This alarming rate of HIV infection and AIDS spread also includes Nigeria, where 5.4 percent of adults (ages 15-49) are infected with HIV and have AIDS.
As a result, the study is designed to gain insight into the attitudes of University of Lagos undergraduates toward HIV voluntary testing. It will attempt to find answers to the following questions:
1. Will University of Lagos students be knowledgeable enough to participate in voluntary counseling and testing?
2. Will University of Lagos students consider VCT to be effective in preventing the spread of HIV/AIDS?
3. Will students at the University of Lagos know where to find VCT Centers?
4. Will students at the University of Lagos be aware of their HIV status?
1.3 STUDY OBJECTIVE.
The primary goal of this research will be to:
1. Determine whether undergraduates’ attitudes toward HIV voluntary testing will be positive.
1.4 THE STUDY’S IMPORTANCE
Because knowledge breeds action and informed response, there is a need to inform undergraduates at the University of Lagos about the importance of HIV voluntary testing, which will allow them to know their HIV status, and once this is known, they will be at the forefront of preventing the spread of the HIV/AIDS pandemic.
The findings of this study will provide undergraduates with opportunities to become more aware of safer options and to maintain safer sexual and drug-related behaviors.
It will also provide an opportunity to reduce the spread, burden, and stigma associated with HIV/AIDS.
1.5 QUESTIONS FOR RESEARCH
i. Will University of Lagos students be willing to take a voluntary HIV test?
ii. Will University of Lagos students accept the fact that VCT helps to reduce HIV transmission?
iii. Will a University of Lagos student be able to name
There are two VCT Centers?
iv. Will University of Lagos students be aware of their HIV status?
1.6 HYPOTHESES
1. Students at the University of Lagos will be unaware of HIV Voluntary Counseling and Testing.
2. Students at the University of Lagos will be unaware of their HIV status.
3. Students at the University of Lagos do not believe that HIV voluntary counseling and testing are effective in preventing the spread of HIV.
4. Students at the University of Lagos will be unaware of HIV voluntary counseling and testing facilities.
1.7 DELIVERY LIMITATION
The study was limited to only undergraduates from two faculties at the University of Lagos, namely:
a. Schooling
b. Sociology
LIMITATION 1.8
The primary constraint The researcher experienced fatigue during the course of the study, as most of the respondents were unwilling to sit and tick any questionnaire, and most of the respondents were afraid to answer questions about HIV/AIDS.
The nature of the research and the subject used made data collection and coalition extremely difficult.
1.3 TERM DEFINITION
AIDS stands for Acquired Immune Deficiency Syndrome.
HIV stands for Human Immunodeficiency Virus.
VIRUS: The smallest of the microorganisms responsible for disease.
ENDEMIC: An endemic disease is always present in a specific location.
PREVALENT: Common at a specific time or in a specific location.
PANDEMIC DISEASE: A disease that affects a large population.
IMMUNE SYSTEM: The system through which your body protects itself from disease.
INTRAVENOUS INJECTION: An injection given into a vein. CIRCUMCISION: The act of removing the skin from the end of the penis (male] the Clitoris (female).
SCARIFICATION: The practice of making small cuts on an area of skin with a sharp knife.
VCT stands for Voluntary Counseling and Testing.
SPECIFICITY: A HIV test’s specificity is the percentage of HIV negative cases correctly identified as negative by the test.
SENSITIVITY: A HIV test’s sensitivity is the percentage of HIV positive cases correctly identified as positive by the test.
FHI stands for Family Health International.
SWAAN: Nigeria Chapter of the Society for Women and Aids in Africa.
Sexually Transmitted Infections (STIs) are infections that are transmitted through sexual contact.
People Living with HIV/AIDS (PLWHA) is an abbreviation for People Living with HIV/AIDS.
ARV stands for antiretroviral.
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ATTITUDE OF UNDERGRADUATE STUDENTS TOWARDS HIV VOLUNTARY COUNSELING AND TESTING
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