Knowledge and Attitudes of Youth Towards HCT Services in Lira district

HIV&AIDS Counselling and Testing (HCT) services have for long been seen as an intervention towards HIV prevention. The major objective of this study is to establish the Knowledge and Attitudes of youth towards HCT services in Lira district, Uganda. The study tried to establish the knowledge of the youth on HIV&AIDS and HCT services, to identify the attitudes of the youth towards HCT services and to find out the strategies for improving HCT uptake among the youth. A cross section study design was used to collect quantitative and qualitative data from 112 youth. Quantitative data was collected by the use of semi-structure questionnaire on youth between 15-24 years while qualitative data was obtained using key informant interviews and focus group discussions. The findings show that most youth are knowledgeable about HIV&AIDS and HCT services because they can identify modes of HIV transmission and where to obtain HCT services. Youth in school were more likely to have heard about HIV and AIDS compared to the youth out of school. The study shows that youth have both positive and negative attitudes towards HCT services.