HIV risk factors Among Single University Students: A comparative study in Shiraz, Southern Iran

Background: University students are in danger of HIV acquisition through different routes such as unprotected sexual contacts, regardless of their majorities. We aimed to clarify this danger.Method: From nearly all universities in the city of Shiraz, participants were interviewed. A valid and reliable questionnaire was used for data collection. Data analysis was done in SPSS.Results: 777 of university students participated in this survey. Female (454; 58.4%) to Male (316; 40.7%) ratio was 1.4. Median of Age was 23.8 years. 255(32.8%) were from Public compared to 306 (39.3%) from other universities. Out of 610 (78.5%) single students: 300 (49.1%) had history of sexual contacts, 31(5%) were homosexuals, 212(34.7%) were alcohol users, 22(3.6%) were opium users and 57(9.3%) tattooed. 111(18.1%) of single students were tested before for HIV and 2 (0.3%) were HIV positive. 139(22.7%) did not know which type of sexual contacts (vaginal, oral, anal) was more risky about HIV transmission. Only 112(18.3%) were using condom regularly in their sexual contacts, while 72(11.8%) were using condom only for prevention of pregnancy in their partners. Median of age at first sexual contact was 18 years and median number of sexual contact in the year prior to this study was 1. Conclusions: 1 of 2 single university students had sexual contacts and 1of 3 used alcohol and 1 of 5 with sexual contacts used condom regularly. Overall, risky behaviors regarding HIV/AIDS among university students should not be overlooked by policymakers and should be overcome through implementation of more effective interventions.

Keywords:

HIV , Sexual , Behavior , University , Single , Students