Symptomatic prevalence of STI and treatment seeking behavior among males and females in selected districts of India

Annu Singh
Saurabh Singh, International Institute for Population Sciences (IIPS)
Vijaylakshmi Singh, International Institute for Population Sciences (IIPS)

Young women are especially at risk of contracting HIV because of the interplay of biological, economic and socio-cultural factors. This present paper provides comprehensive insights into extent and correlates of gaps existing between knowledge, availability and use of condom as HIV prevention as well as the associates and determinants for symptomatic prevalence of STIs, as potential risks towards acquiring HIV/AIDS. The paper also explores the situation of treatment seeking behavior and preferences among STI infected men and women. The study is based on secondary data collected through a survey in selected five districts belonging to five states in India. Overall data for the present study pertain to information collected from 2458 married and unmarried women (age 13-24 years) and 1309 married and unmarried males (age 15-29 years). The bivariate and multivariate findings reveal that those who are better informed about STI/HIV transmission are more likely to have misconceptions of it; women reporting condom use by their partner in the last sexual encounter are four times less likely to suffer with any STI during last twelve months. Larger proportion of unmarried women, who are not ready to accept husband’s extramarital relationship, reported to suffer STI than their married counterparts. Though people are aware of condom and its availability and accessibility, overall use of condom in spite of knowing it as a means of preventing HIV is low among both married and unmarried men. The odds of experiencing STI among respondents not perceiving condom as a protection against STI is 1.43 times higher than those perceiving as a protection against STI. There is a significant variation between married and unmarried women towards type of utilizing health facilities while married young men are 1.2 times more likely to go for treatment in case of STI than unmarried young men.