STRATEGIES ADOPTED FOR PREVENTING SEXUALLY TRANSMITTED DISEASES AMONG SECONDARY SCHOOL STUDENTS IN NKANU WEST LOCAL GOVERNMENT AREA, ENUGU STATE

Abstract

This study preventive strategies adopted for sexual transmitted diseases among secondary school students in Nkanu West Local Government Area. The research was guided by two research questions and two corresponding hypotheses. The design of the study was a descriptive survey which aims at collecting data specifically on the opinions, attitudes and views of the subjects on a particular issue as sexually transmitted diseases. The area of this study was Nkanu West Local Government Area of Enugu State. The population for the study comprised of 2931 male and female senior secondary school students from the twelve (12) secondary schools in Nkanu West Local Government Area.  The sample size for the study was 293 male (100) and female (193) senior secondary school students from five out of 12 public secondary schools in the area. The researcher made use of questionnaire titled Preventive Strategies for Sexually Transmitted Diseases Questionnaire (PSSTDsQ). The validity of the questionnaire was done using three experts, two from the Department of HKHE and one from the Department of Mathematics and Computer Science Education and specialized in Measurement and Evaluation all from the Faculty of Education, ESUT, Enugu. The analysis of data was done with mean. This is because mean is generally regarded as a good measure of central tendency. The responses of the respondents were scored based on the points assigned to each response which include: Strongly Agree-4 points; Agree-3 points; Disagree-2 points and Strongly Disagree-1 point. The decision rule was that mean responses of 2.50 and above signifies agreeing to the item statement highlighted while mean responses below 2.50 signifies disagreeing to the item statements highlighted. The findings revealed that STDs can be contracted through sharing the same razors, using the same clipper, sharing needles and from having sex. It was then recommended that seminars and workshops should be organized, awareness through pamphlets and leaflets to intensify effort in assisting the students know the dangers of sexually transmitted diseases.