Perceptions of AIDS risk and condom use among out-of-school adolescents in Moshi rural district, northern Tanzania.

Objective: To determine the magnitude of perceived AIDS risk among out-of-school adolescents in Moshi rural district of Kilimanjaro region, northern Tanzania.

Methods: A cross-sectional study involving face-to-face interviews with out-of-school adolescents in eleven rural villages in Moshi district, northern Tanzania.

Results: We found that of the 668 adolescents (10-19 years of age) surveyed, 45.4% were sexually active and significantly more men than women reported being sexually active (55.85 versus 23.0%, OR = 0.24, 95% CI = 0.16 to 0.34). Adolescents who had travelled to Moshi town or out of Tanzania were significantly more likely to be sexually active compared with those who have never travelled. Despite perception of AIDS risk, a large majority (70.5%) of sexually active adolescents reported having multiple sexual partners. Adolescents who perceived being at AIDS risk were less likely to report having multiple sexual partners and were more likely to report having used a condom at the last sexual intercourse.

Conclusion: These findings indicate that adolescents in this rural population are still practising high risk sexual behaviours suggesting the need for youth-targeted intervention programmes in rural Tanzania.