This study explores the awareness and predictors of knowledge regarding sexually transmitted diseases among early adolescents (ages 11–15) in the Koforidua Municipality. The study was designed as convergent parallel mixed-methods research hinged on an analytical cross-sectional and descriptive phenomenological design. In all, 373 adolescents were surveyed, obtaining varied insights across different demographic groups, with an additional 10 interviews conducted for qualitative analysis. Quantitative data were analyzed using descriptive statistics and multilevel logistic regression, while the qualitative data were thematically analyzed. Two-thirds (67.3%) of early adolescents reported awareness of STDs. 134(53.4%) out of the 251 early adolescents who were aware of STDs opted to test for them. HIV (M = 1.33, SD = 0.699), and Gonorrhea (M = 1.55, SD = 0.827) were the most commonly recognized infections but misconceptions about Syphilis (M = 1.94, SD = 0.929), Chlamydia (M = 2.49, SD = 0.778), Genital wart (M = 2.35, SD = 0.854) and Hepatitis (M = 2.36, SD = 0.755) as types of STDs were dominant. Early adolescents in Junior High School -JHS1 (AOR 0.307 (95.0% CI 0.111–0.847 p = 0.023), JHS 2 (AOR 0.201 (95.0% CI 0.070–0.579 p = 0.003), JHS 3 (AOR 0.134 (95.0% CI 0.043–0.414 p = 0.00) were less likely to know STDs compared to those in primary six. Early adolescents who had never dated (AOR 0.705 (95.0% CI 0.423–1.173 p = 0.014) were also less likely to know about STDs compared to those who had ever dated. The findings highlight the need for the Ghana Education Service to integrate comprehensive sexual health education into primary and junior high school curricula to improve STD knowledge among early adolescents. Every day, over 1 million treatable sexually transmitted diseases (STDs) are acquired worldwide in people aged 15 to 49, the majority of which are asymptomatic. Sexually transmitted infections are one of the leading causes of illness among women in sub-Saharan Africa. There is a strong awareness of HIV in Ghana, but there is a lack of information on other STDs like chlamydia, herpes, and genital warts, particularly among adolescents. Previous studies on sexually transmitted diseases have concentrated on late adolescents with little attention given to early adolescents in Ghana. For this reason, this study was conducted to examine the awareness and predictors of STD knowledge among adolescents aged between 11 and 15. We studied early adolescents who reside and attend public schools within the Koforidua Municipality. Using a mixed-method approach, the research combined surveys and interviews to gather quantitative and qualitative insight.
Ofori et al. (Mon,) studied this question.