Factors Contributing To Young Adults’ Vulnerability To Hiv/Aids In Kenya: A Case Study Of Baricho Town In Kirinyaga County

Abstract

ABSTRACT The purpose of this study was to investigate factors contributing to young adults’ vulnerability to HIV/AIDS in Kenya towns. The specific objectives of the study were; to examine whether social factors contribute to young adults’ vulnerability to HIV /AIDS, to determine whether economic factors contribute to young adults’ vulnerability to HIV /AIDS and to establish whether demographic factors contribute to young adults’ vulnerability to HIV /AIDS in Baricho Town Kirinyaga County. The study will be of significance to the youth especially those of Baricho town as they will get relevant information regarding their vulnerability hence help them in decision making as well as prevention and control of HIV/AIDS. The study will also be of significance to government as the facts obtained may provide guidelines to policy developers in formulating policies in relation to youth employment challenges and HIV/AIDS preventive measures in the society. The study was based on theory of planned behavior which predicts an individual’s intention to engage in a behavior at a specific time and place and social learning theory which looks at human behavior as a continuous interaction between cognitive, behavioral and environmental determinants. The study adopted a descriptive research design where questionnaire was the main data collection instrument and the sample size was 30 respondents. The findings from the study revealed that social factors, economic factors and demographic factors contributed significantly to young adults’ vulnerability to HIV/AIDS in Baricho town. The study also revealed that poverty contributes significantly to the vulnerability of young adults to HIV HIV/AIDS as lack of basic needs forces young adults to get involved to risky sexual behaviours such as prostitution in order to makes ends meet. On the other hand, drug abuse where some are administered through the syringe had led to young adults’ vulnerability to HIV/AIDS. The study further revealed that education played a significant role where educated couples especially women knows their rights (protective measures) and are exposed to options of earning a living (employable) hence they can defend themselves better from sex predators than those who are not learned. The study recommends that low-income earning youth should be encouraged to engage in income generating activities supplement their inocme or attend training in order to expand their skill thus betterment of their chances of getting employed or to help them operate their business profitably. The study further recommends that effective measures to be taken to stop the spread because it leads to more young adults getting HIV/AIDS which is detrimental to overall productivity of the nation.