Abstract:

Background: HIV/AIDS is a major health problem affecting all ages in Tanzania but the burden is huge among the youth. Like most other Sub-Saharan African countries, Tanzania has a very young population. A third of the country’s population is aged 10-24, the age among become sexually active which exposes them to HIV and other sexually transmitted diseases and as such, the timely introduction and uptake of strategies like HIV Counselling and Testing will reduce transmission and provide access to preventive services.

Objective: To assess the knowledge, attitude and practice of voluntary counselling and testing for HIV among high school students in Mbeya Urban District, Tanzania.

Methods: A cross-sectional study using quantitative methods was conducted from September 2018 – February 2019. A multi-stage sampling method was applied to randomly select the study participants. Interviews were conducted using structured questionnaires. Data analysis was done using Statistical Package for Social Sciences version 20. Descriptive analysis was done with frequencies and summary statistics.

Results: About 57.6% of the study participants were males with age between 17-20 years. Majority (72.2%) of the respondents were form five students with 92.0% reported to be Christian. Most of the participants were knowledgeable on VCT, 78.2% knew where VCT is offered, 93.9% heard about VCT and 84.6% knew VCT involve individual being tested on their own will. They had positive attitude towards VCT for HIV where 84.8% reported VCT is necessary, 87.9% and 69.1% agreed couples should tested HIV before marriage and starting new relationship respectively. Only 50.4% had tested for HIV while 81.5% were ready for future HIV test. Fear of positive results, stigma and discrimination following the positive results reported as main barrier for VCT uptake.

Conclusion: The finding of this study showed that most of the youths have a good level of knowledge regarding HIV/AIDS and VCT. A majority of the study participants had positive attitude towards voluntary testing and counselling of HIV. Still the practice of voluntary test and counselling is low.