Risk Factors Of Sexually-Transmitted Infections (Stis) Among Men And Women In A Mining Community In Western Ghana: A Study Of Lifetime Occurrence

The paper seeks to identify risk factors associated with STIs and its prevalence in western Ghana. This study explored the relationship between STI diagnosis and demographic factors as well as contraceptive use in a mining community in western Ghana. Selected hospitals in the district were surveyed. The sample consisted of 117 males and 253 female patients attending outpatient clinics. 92% of 400 individuals approached agreed to complete a questionnaire. The majority (72%) of the respondents was between 20-39 years; 14% were adolescents; 94% had some form of education, of which 43% had completed middle school; 50% of males and about 80% of females were married. Use of contraceptives by married and never married was 57% and 43%, respectively. The vast majority of males were engaged in small scale mining; 42% of the women were into trading. About 11% had gonorrhea, 27% had candidiasis and only 1 had chlamydia. Of the 150 respondents who had STIs, 84% were females. The odds of an STI diagnosis significantly increased when respondents were female (odds ratio (OR) = 3.0) compared to males and younger respondents (19-24 years) compared to older ones (OR = 3.68). Odds decreased with use of contraceptives (OR = 0.56) compared to non-users and with marital status (OR = 0.42) compared to never-married. The overall logistic model was statistically significant (χ2 (8, N=370) = 56.19, p < .001). Females, younger individuals, never-married and contraceptive non-users are at relatively high risk for STIs in a mining district in western Ghana.