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| Students' Health Behavior and Course Completion in Public and Private Universities in Uganda
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Asingwire Richard, Prof. Ijeoma Amunaka B. and Dr. Sofia Sol Gaite T.
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Abstract:
The study was on Students' health behavior and course completion in public and private universities in Uganda. It was conducted in 9 public and private universities in Uganda while balancing 3 regions: Central, Western and Eastern. The study was of Qualitative in nature and used a Positivism philosophy backed with Health Belief Model (HBM) by Rosen stock, supported by the Theory of Reasoned Action (TRA) which was proposed in 1975 by Martin Fishbein. Students perform health behavior having reasoned about the positive and negative consequences. Health Belief Model terms like Susceptibility, Perceived benefits, Perceived barriers, Self efficacy and Clue to barriers were borrowed from HBM. Preventive, Illness and Sick-role behaviors that were pathways to the risky health behavior were borrowed from HBM. These pathways were used in studying related literature, designing research instruments, collecting data, analyzing and interpreting it. Findings: A new culture has come up - students have created their own new life where there are no outsiders like elders. Students don't care about the future. They have lost hopes. There is an increasing rate of cross-age risky sexual behavior. Cross gender risky sexual behavior is rampant among students either willingly, lured or forcefully. Love for money, materials plus job promising are becoming the order of the day. Students accept their risky sexual behaviors is concerned publicaly. HIV is being transmitted at a very high rate among students. A big number of students don't know their HIV status. The majority of students don't their HIV status and are doing nothing as far as preventing themselves from being infected by HIV. Almost all the students don't know anything about Prep. Some few students who are HIV positive stopped from taking their ARVS. The majority of students don't use condoms. So many students are suffering from Sexual Transmitted Diseases. Recommendations: There should be enough programs of Health behavior awareness starting from national lever to students as individuals. Social media should be the pathways of educating, guiding and controlling students. Religious leaders should go to come down to where students are to give hope. Health institutions should come down to find students where they are. Students should develop a habit of health seeking behavior. Though out of restriction and free from the 'eye' of the parents or teachers, students should learn how to control themselves using laws of nature.
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