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Background: Pre Exposure Prophylaxis and Post exposure ART prophylaxis is considered
the standard preventive measure against HIV/AIDS infection among the exposed. Several
clinical studies have demonstrated that HIV transmission can be reduced by 81% following
the immediate administration of antiretroviral agents. With number of interventions
undertaken to scale up uptake the ART prophylaxis (pre and post exposure prophylaxis) in
line with behaviour change programs especially in high risk population in Tanzania, little is
known about knowledge, attitude and ART prophylaxis uptake among University Students in
Kilimanjaro Region.
Objectives: To determine prevalence, knowledge and attitude of ART prophylaxis uptake
among University students in Kilimanjaro region.
Methods: A descriptive cross sectional study design was conducted from May to June 2016
among University students in Kilimanjaro region. 324 university students were included in
this study. A self-administered questionnaires was used to collect information. SPSS version
20 was used for data analysis. Categorical data were summarised in to frequency and
percentages. Results are presented in tables.
Results: A total of 324 University students participated in this study of these 21.3% exposed
to blood, body fluids, needles or sharp objects. Prevalence of ART prophylaxis uptake among
those exposed was 36.2%. About two third of all respondents (65.7%), were reported to have
inadequate knowledge about post exposure prophylaxis for HIV. The majority of respondent
(85%) had good attitude toward the ART prophylaxis.
Conclusion: This study found that the prevalence of ART prophylaxis uptake among
University students to be low compared to other studies, this might be due to their inadequate
knowledge on ART prophylaxis and HIV risky situations. Even though many of the students
had HIV risky exposure, the reported proportion of university students that were exposed and
did not take the ART prophylaxis for HIV cannot be considered low. There is also low
knowledge on ART prophylaxis despite the positive attitude among university students in
Kilimanjaro region. This study recommends enforcement of HIV/AIDS policy and ART
guideline in universities and awareness programs (like seminars) as well as counselling
services. |
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