Shiferaw, Solomon(PhD)Arega, Tegene2018-07-122023-11-052018-07-122023-11-052010-06http://etd.aau.edu.et/handle/123456789/8238Background --Young people have special sexual and reproductive health needs. Because of their low use of reproductive health service and their relatively high risk of being exposed to inaccurate or incomplete information, they are affected by HIV and other Sexually Transmitted infections (STIs) and experiencing unintended pregnancy. Objective--to assess HIV and unintended pregnancy risk perception and contraceptive use among youth in Debrebrhan District, Amhara Region. Methodology--a community based cross-sectional survey of 400 youths aged 15-24 years and 4 FGDs composed of two men and two women groups conducted in Debrebrhan District , in the eastern part of the country, from February 2010 to March 2010. Two-stage cluster sampling technique was employed, out of nine kebeles in the district; five kebeles were selected by simple random sampling. Respondents from each household were selected using a systematic sampling technique. Data analysis for the quantitative part was analyzed using EPI info version 6 and SPSS version 11 for windows and the qualitative part was manually summarized. Result--About 45% of the respondents were sexually active. The mean age at first sexual intercourse was 19.9+ 2.9years. Among the sexually active respondents 36.5% had ever used contraceptives and 35.9% use contraceptives consistently. The leading determinants of contraceptive use were to prevent unwanted pregnancy and HIV (accounting 35.3%) followed by limit births. Risk perception to HIV and unintended pregnancy was 9.8% and 18.2% respectively. Risk perception to HIV was associated with age of first partner consistent condom use and khat chewing Risk perception to pregnancy was associated with consistent contraceptive use Conclusion--despite the high knowledge the youths have on HIV and unintended pregnancy and contraception, contraceptive use and risk perception to HIV and unintended pregnancy is still low. Attitude to wards reproductive health services is the barrier to contraceptive use. Peer-based interventions and negotiate contraceptive use are important for promotion contraceptive useenHIV and Unintended PregnancyThesis