The Prevalence of Symptomatic Sexually Transmitted Diseases among Refugees in Addis Ababa, Ethiopia

Asresash Siraw , Kefyalew Addis , Abebaw Addis , Medhanye Habtetsion
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DOI: https://doi.org/10.20372/ejhbs.v9i1.256
Submitted: 2021-08-25 08:14:29
Published: 2019-09-10

Background: Though refugees are prone to sexually transmitted diseases, little attention has been given to prevention programs in Ethiopia. Therefore, this study was conducted to assess the prevalence and associated factors of symptomatic sexually transmitted diseases among refugees in Addis Ababa.

Methods: This cross-sectional study was conducted on 379 refugees in Addis Ababa, from November to December 2015. The systematic random sampling technique was used to select study participants. Data were collected using a pretested, structured questionnaire, entered into Epi-info version 7, and analyzed using SPSS version 20. Bi-variable and Multivariable logistic regression models were employed to see the presence and strength of associations between the dependent and independent variables by computing odds ratios with 95% confidence intervals and p-value< 0.05.

Results: The overall prevalence of symptomatic sexually transmitted diseases was 34.6% (95%CI: 29.8%, 39.6%). Factors, like2-5 years stay in Eth., 2 – 5 (AOR=2.31, 95% CI; 1.22, 4.38), sexual violence (AOR=1.72: 95%CI; 1.01, 2.93),  divorce (AOR=0.39: 95%CI; 0.16, 0.93), chewing Khat before sex( AOR=2.04: 95% CI; 1.16, 3.59),and  not using condoms during sex (AOR=2.49, 95%CI: 1.47, 4.21) were significantly associated with the prevalence of symptomatic sexually transmitted diseases.

Conclusion: The prevalence of symptomatic sexually transmitted diseases among refugees was found to be high. Factors like duration of stay, sexual violence, divorce, khat chewing and not using condoms during sex were significantly associated with the disease. Therefore, special attention should be given to refuges with 2-5 years of stay in Ethiopia, sexual violence, widowed refugees, history of khat chewing before sex, not using condoms during sex to reduce the prevalence of SSTD in refugees.

 

Keywords

Refugees prevalence sexually transmitted diseases Addis Ababa Ethiopia

Authors

Asresash Siraw

Ethiopian Orthodox Church Development and Inter Church Air Commission Refugee and Returnee Affairs Department, Addis Ababa, Ethiopia,

Kefyalew Addis

Epidemiology and Biostatistics Department, College of Medicine and Health Sciences, University of Gondar

Abebaw Addis

Reproductive Health Department, College of Medicine and Health Sciences, University of Gondar

Medhanye Habtetsion

Ethiopian Public Health Institute, Addis Ababa, Ethiopia

 

How to Cite

Asresash Siraw, Kefyalew Addis, Abebaw Addis, Medhanye Habtetsion (2019-09-10). The Prevalence of Symptomatic Sexually Transmitted Diseases among Refugees in Addis Ababa, Ethiopia. Ethiopian Journal of Health and Biomedical Sciences, Vol. 9 No. 1 (2019), 15-27. https://doi.org/10.20372/ejhbs.v9i1.256

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Copyright © 2019 The Author(s)

Copyright & Licensing © Year The Author(s). This is an open-access article distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International License (CC BY 4.0) , which permits unrestricted use; sharing (copying and redistributing the material in any medium or format); and adaptation (remixing, transforming, and building upon the material for any purpose), provided the original author(s) and the source are properly cited/credited and a link to the license is provided. To view a copy of this license, visit http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/

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