Abstract

The aim of this study was to examine the factors associated with consistent condom use among senior secondary school female students in Mbonge subdivision of Cameroon within the parameters set by the Health Belief Model (HBM). The objective of the study was to report on the components of the HBM with statistically significant explanatory associations with consistent condom use during sexual intercourse to prevent human immune deficiency virus (HIV) transmission. A quantitative, correlational design was adopted, using self-administered questionnaires to collect data from 210 female students selected through disproportional, stratified, simple random sampling technique, from three participating senior secondary schools. Statistics were calculated using statistical package for social sciences (SPSS) version 20 software program. As many as 54.0% of the respondents reported having ever had sex, among whom only 29.6% reported using condoms consistently. Multinomial logistic regression analysis based on the components of the HBM show that perceived susceptibility to human immune deficiency virus/acquired immune deficiency syndrome (HIV/AIDS) (p = 0.023), perceived self-efficacy for condom use (p = 0.003) and the socio-demographic variables (p = 0.000) are the most significant factors associated with consistent condom use at the level p < 0.05.

Key words: Rural Cameroon, Mbonge subdivision, senior secondary school female students, consistent condom use, human immunodeficiency virus/acquired immune deficiency syndrome (HIV/AIDS), health belief model (HBM).