Prevalence and determinants of condom use among youth in Malawi: Evidence from the 2015/16 Malawi Demographic and Health Survey

Background: Unprotected sexual intercourse among the youths is common in Malawi. This has led to high rates of sexually transmitted infections (STIs), Human Immunodeficiency Virus (HIV), and unwanted pregnancies. The study investigated the prevalence and the determinants of condom use for the prevention of sexually transmitted infections and unwanted pregnancies among youths in Malawi. Methods The 2015/2016 Malawi Demographic and Health Survey data were used among 15 to 24-year-old males and females who had sexual intercourse four months preceding the survey. A total of 1,543 males and 5,143 females were selected from 3226 males and 10367 females respectively and analyzed with SPSS version 20 using .descriptive, bivariate, and binary logistic regression. Results The study showed a low prevalence (27.1%) of condom use among the youths in the last sexual intercourse within four months before the survey. More males (55.8%) used condoms than females (18.5%). The significant predictors of condom use among the male and female youths were: being sexually active (OR 0.39 CI 0.33–0.47), youths aged 20–24 (OR 0.80 CI 0.68–0.95), ever married (OR 0.07 CI 0.06–0.08), residence in central region (OR 0.56 CI 0.40–0.77), and southern region (OR 0.59 CI 0.42–0.83), residence in the rural area (OR 0.74 CI 0.61–0.90) and ever tested of HIV (OR 1.29 CI 1.03–1.55). Conclusion Having established low prevalence of condom use among the youth in Malawi, there is a need to scale up programs and policies that target the youths to practice safe sex, which will assist in addressing the challenges of STIs, including HIV, and preventing unwanted pregnancies in Malawi.