Perception, Condom Use Among Secondary School Students in Kenya

The sexual practices that are rampant among adolescents in Kenya include having multiple sexual partners and unprotected sexual intercourse. The consequences of risky sexual behaviour include early and unwanted pregnancies, school dropout, poor performance in school, infection with sexually transmitted diseases. Secondary school students are in the category of adolescents because they are between the ages of 14-19 years. Following the introduction of HIV/AIDS education, reproductive health education and establishment of guidance and counselling programmes in schools, students are expected to develop a positive perception about the importance of condom use in the prevention of STDs. This study sought to assess the levels of perceptions of condom use among secondary school students in the prevention of STDs in Bahati division of Nakuru North District. This study adopted an ex post facto research design. The target population included 12, 319 students and 52 teacher counsellors in the 52 secondary schools in the study area. A sample of 372 students and six teacher counsellors was selected from six schools. The researcher purposively selected 36 mixed schools because girls and boys co-learn together. Simple random sampling technique was used to select the respondents. Data was collected through the administration of two sets of questionnaires. Data collected was analyzed using descriptive and inferential statistics with the aid of the computer programme referred to as Statistical Package for Social Sciences (SPSS) version 11.5 for windows. A major findings of the study was that students expected the Guidance and Counselling departments in their schools to play a more assertive role in creating awareness on sexuality issues affecting them. The study recommended that the Guidance and Counselling programme take a more active role enhancing awareness of sexual behavior and its related consequences in schools following the finding.