The Characteristics Of Health Information Seeking And Sexual Behaviors In Adolescents Living With HIV

ObjectiveTo understand the characteristics of health information seeking behaviors,sexual and reproductive health(SRH)knowledge and sexual behaviors in adolescents living with HIV(ALHIV)and the predictors of health information seeking and sexual behaviors.MethodsA quantitative cross-sectional research was conducted to collect data on the health information seeking behaviors,SRH knowledge and sexual behaviors in ALHIV and their predictors were analyzed.The participants of the research were reached through convenience sampling between November 1,2018 and January 31,2019,in five study scenes of Beijing,Tianjin and Nanning,with the inclusion criterion of 15 to 21 years old of age and informed consent to the survey.Through a face-to-face questionnaire,data on social demographic characteristics,health information seeking behaviors,SRH knowledge and sexual behaviors of the respondents were collected and used for descriptions and analyses.The rank-sum tests were used for the comparison of continuous variables of skew distributions and the chi-square tests for categorical variables.Univariate and multivariate logistic regression models were used to assess the predictors of health information seeking and sexual behaviors in ALHIV.ResultsA total of 168 valid questionnaires were collected in this study.The main results are as follows.1 Demographic characteristics:the median age of 168 participants was 20(18-20)years old.Among the 168 participants,148(88.10%)were males,121(72.02%)were homosexually infected and 96(57.14%)were students.2 Health information seeking behaviors and its predictors:64(38.10%)were very concerned about health information.120(71.43%)preferred seeking SRH information through Internet and 123(73.21%)had sought online in the past six months.98(58.33%)preferred seeking SRH information through health workers and 74(44.05%)had sought through them in the past 6 months.Multivariate analysis revealed that adolescents who were located in economically developed regions(OR=7.794,95%CI:1.651?36.804),preferred seeking SRH information through Internet(OR=126.531,95%CI:29.705?538.978)and ever had sexual intercourse(OR=6.604,95%CI:1.378?31.638)were more likely to use Internet as a source of SRH information.Adolescents who preferred seeking SRH information through health workers(OR=84.772,95%Ci:22.483-319.636)were more likely to utilize this source,while those located in economically developed regions(OR=0.181,95%CI:0.072?0.460)were less likely to do so.3 SRH knowledge:the median number of the correct answers of the 8 SRH-related questions were 6(5-7),and the SRH knowledge was specifically poor in adolescents who were infected with HIV through mother-to-child transmission.4 Sexual behaviors and its predictors:among 168 participants,143(85.12%)had sexual intercourse previously,of which 83(58.04%)were sexually active,and 49(59.04%)used condoms for each sexual intercourse in the past 6 months.Multivariate analysis showed that being on ART for 6 to 12 months(OR=0.092,95%CI:0.017?0.493o),being on ART for more than 12 months(OR=0.192,95%CI:0.056?0.663)and being very concerned about health information(OR=0.296,95%CI:0.088?0.994)were protective factors for condom use.Conclusion1 The health information sources were diverse in ALHIV,mainly comprised of the Internet,followed by professional health workers,while the utilization of the official websites is comparatively low among the various channels of the Internet.Regional economic development,health information source preference and sexual intercourse history were predictors of the utilization of health information sources in ALHIV.Appropriate platforms should be considered for adolescent health information network services,and the information provided with should be targeted and personalized.2 The SRH knowledge in ALHIV need further improvement,as several SRH-related questions were answered poorly.Adolescents who were infected with HIV through mother-to-child transmission were less knowledgeable in SRH.The sexual health education in adolescents should be strengthened continuously and knowledge shortage be emphasized as well.3 There is a high proportion of sexually active adolescents in ALHIV,while less than 60%of them used condoms consistently.The strengthened appropriate health information delivery and the exploration for a new mode of safe sex education combined with the care system in ALHIV are recommended.