Condom awareness and intended use: gender and religious contrasts among school pupils in rural Masaka, Uganda

A cross-sectional questionnaire survey examining knowledge, attitudes and i ntended use of condoms was conducted among 1,821 pupils (mean age = 14.2 ye ars, range = 9-24) from 27 primary and secondary schools in rural south wes tern Uganda. Condom education is not provided in Ugandan schools, but both boys and girls had relatively high overall levels of knowledge, even though boys demonstrated a higher level than girls. This suggests that respondent s had successfully obtained reliable information from other sources. Boys a nd girls had similar and fairly positive attitudes towards condoms, althoug h considerable shyness was expressed, both about discussing condoms with a partner and buying them. Fifty-eight per cent said that they themselves wou ld use a condom if one were available, but girls were far less likely than boys to say so. Roman Catholics (46% of the sample) were less knowledgeable and less positive about condoms than non-Catholics, and the boys in this g roup, but not the girls, were also much less likely to say they would use o ne. Possible interventions based on these findings are discussed, and a res earch agenda for the delivery of assertiveness training to girls is propose d.