Lay people's perceptions of sexually transmitted infections in Uganda

In order to understand lay people's perceptions of sexually transmitted inf ections (STIs) focus group discussions and semi-structured interviews were held with community members and patients with STIs in Mbarara and Kampala, Uganda. Symptoms of common STIs and the modes of transmission methods were known. STIs were perceived as naturalistic diseases caused by a tiny insect called akakoko or akawuka, although female infertility, one of the common complications of STIs, was perceived as a supernatural ailment. There was n o stigma towards people with AIDS, although stigma towards people with othe r STIs was high. There were also strong negative attitudes towards the use of condoms. More than 60% of the patients interviewed had received treatmen t from the informal sector which included self-treatment and traditional he alers. To reduce the incidence and complications of STIs, there may be a ne ed to collaborate with the informal sector, to further evaluate the beliefs and practices identified in this study and to target them for health educa tion.