Perceptions of clients on awareness and the geographical location of a South African university sexual health clinic

Narratives of young black men on barriers to health care and poor health care seeking behaviours at a university setting: a qualitative study

BACKGROUND

Institutions of higher learning provide education, training, independence and life-long skills for young people. However, for students to achieve their optimal growth and intellectual development they need to be healthy psychologically, mentally and physically. This can be achieved through the development of effective health programs for all university students. This qualitative study was designed to explore Black male students' perspectives and experiences regarding the utilization of on-campus health services at the University of KwaZulu-Natal.

METHODS

The study population was selected using purposive sampling. Data were collected using four focus group discussions (FGDs) with 36 participants and three key informant interviews. Thematic analysis was conducted to identify the key patterns and themes that emerged from the data.

RESULTS

Emerging themes included poor knowledge and awareness, negative perceptions and attitudes, fear and lack of privacy, and negative experiences leading to poor access and utilization of campus health services. The findings suggested a need for more advocacy and awareness campaigns especially among first year students, campaigns for normalization of sexual health, addressing HIV stigma and discrimination, providing youth friendly services to improve students' use of sexual health services, and ultimately, their overall health and well-being.

CONCLUSIONS

The findings give valuable insights from male students on the barriers and potential solutions to campus health services and highlight where improvements can be directed to increase access and use of health services by the study population.

Perceived barriers to the uptake of health services among first-year university students in Johannesburg, South Africa

BACKGROUND

Young people face many barriers to accessing appropriate health care services including screening for HIV and tuberculosis (TB). The study aimed to identify perceived barriers to the uptake of health services among young adults entering the tertiary education system in South Africa.

METHODS

We conducted a cross-sectional study among first-year students aged 18-25 years, registered at one of three universities in Johannesburg, South Africa, in 2017. Participants completed a self-administered paper-based questionnaire. We describe perceived barriers to accessing health services, stratified by gender and recent engagement in TB or HIV services, together with sources of information about HIV and TB.

RESULTS

Seven hundred and ninety-two (792) students were included in the study of which 54.8% were female. Perceived barriers to accessing services included long waiting time (n = 342,43.2%), attitude of health workers (n = 263,33.2%), lack of sufficient information/poor health literacy (n = 148,18.7%), and inability to leave/stay away from studies (n = 137,17.3%). Among participants who tested for HIV in the past 6 months (n = 400, 50.5%), waiting time and attitude of health care workers were perceived as barriers to accessing services. Compared to males, females were more likely to view attitudes of health workers (40.3% vs. 25.0%; p = 0.001) and inability to leave/stay away from studies (20.5% vs.13.4%; p = 0.025) as potential barriers. While just over half of the students (50.5%; 400/792) in this study had accessed health services in the past 6 months, very few (15.0%) opted to use campus health services, and even less (5%) reported receiving information about HIV and TB from the university itself.

CONCLUSION

Despite perceived barriers to accessing HIV and TB services off campus, fewer than one in five students starting out at university opted to use campus health services. Campus health services could address many of the barriers unique to university students.