Baseline KABP Study Related to HIV among Young People in Kamrup District, Assam

Abstract

Youth is that period in one’s life span when physical, emotional, social and mental changes take place. It is a period of transition from childhood to adulthood. The World Health Organization defines “adolescents” as people between 10–19 years of age; “youth” as those between 15–24 years; and “young people” as those between 10–24 years (World Health Organization, 1989). It is a very crucial period in one’s life span as this is the time that they face different kinds of challenges and has to make important decisions which might have a bearing through out their lives. As a result, youth is a time of both risk and opportunity. The 21st century has brought opportunities to young people that have improved their situations as compared to that of the earlier generations. They have greater access to the mass media and more freedom of movement, are healthier, and better educated than ever before. In spite of these positive developments, young people still face a myriad of both old and new social and health problems. This could be due to the fact that youth still experience major constraints in making informed choices. Hence, youth are still continuing to engage in health-damaging behaviors. It is generally acknowledged that significant proportions of young people experience risky or unwanted sexual activity, do not receive prompt or appropriate care, and experience adverse reproductive health outcomes. Indeed, youth constitute a large proportion of the HIV-positive population; it is estimated that over 35% of all reported HIV infections in India occur among young people of 15–24 years of age.

Keywords: youth, adult-hood, HIV-positive, population, sexual activity