Knowledge, awareness and use of HIV services among the youth from nomadic and agricultural communities in Tanzania

Abstract

BACKGROUND: Nomadic life not only prevents the community from accessing and utilising HIV services but also deters them from obtaining reliable information on HIV.METHODS: We conducted a cross-sectional study of youth aged 10–24 years from the Kilindi and Ngorongoro Districts in Tanzania to assess knowledge, accessibility and utilisation of HIV/AIDS services among nomadic and agricultural youths.RESULTS: Of 518 youths interviewed, 279 (53.9%) were males, and 276 (53.3%) were from agricultural communities. A significant proportion of youths from agricultural communities had correct knowledge of AIDS (n = 126, 45.8%; P = 0.002), HIV transmission (n = 273, 98.9%; P = 0.001) and comprehensive knowledge of HIV/AIDS (n = 78, 28.5%; P = 0.009) compared to nomads. Youths from agricultural communities were two times (OR 1.8, 95% CI 1.2–2.6) more likely to be aware of the availability of formal HIV services. Awareness of the availability of HIV services was higher among married individuals than in unmarried ones (OR 3.8, 95% CI 2.0–7.4), and significantly higher among youths with secondary/college education than in those who did not have formal education (OR 5.3, 95% CI 2.3–12.4). The uptake of HIV services was lower among nomadic youths.CONCLUSION: Knowledge, awareness and utilisation of HIV/AIDS transmission services were low in general, and even lower among nomadic youths, calling for more targeted interventions.