HIV/AIDS knowledge and attitude towards people living with HIV/AIDS (PLWHA): a cross-sectional study of primary school teachers

BackgroundTeachers are in advantage position to propagate correct information with regard to HIV/AIDS thereby influencing attitude towards PLWHA. With correct information stigmatization leading to spread of the scourge might be prevented.Aims & ObjectivesThe study was conducted to determine knowledge and attitude of primary school teachers towards PLWHA.Methods & MaterialsThe cross-sectional survey was used to study a sample of 400 primary school teachers in Ebonyi State, Nigeria. The instrument used for data collection was researchers'' designed questionnaire. Out of 400 copies of questionnaire administered; 394 representing 98.5% return rate, were used for analysis of data.ResultsResults showed respondents had moderate (57.4%) knowledge concerning HIV/AIDS and positive attitude (3.09 ± 0.98) to PLWHA. Female teachers'' dispositions to PLWHA were better than the males based on their attitude scores and the difference was not significant in general knowledge of HIV/AIDS and attitude to PLWHA.ConclusionOur findings underscore the need for a universal health education programme, focusing on HIV/AIDS education, in education institutions that train teachers in Nigeria so as to possibly mitigate the discrepancy in knowledge regarding curability of AIDS and any undesirable attitude towards PLWHA that may arise among teachers.     

Attitude of antenatal attendees to people living with HIV/AIDS in Uyo, south-south Nigeria

Background

Stigmatization and discrimination of people living with HIV/AIDS has a negative impact on the global efforts to control the HIV/AIDS pandemic. Due to fear of stigmatization and discrimination, many people are reluctant to undergo voluntary counseling and testing, infected individuals are often unwilling to disclose their status and some of them still engage in high-risk behaviours leading to increased transmission of the virus.

Study design and setting

A study of the attitudes to people living with HIV/AIDS was carried out among antenatal clinic attendees at the University of Uyo Teaching Hospital with the aim of developing site-specific information and counseling interventions to reduce stigmatization and discrimination of people living with HIV/AIDS. Information was elicited from 265 randomly selected women who booked for antenatal care between September and December 2005 with the use of a self-administered questionnaire.

Results

263 questionnaires were duly completed and analyzed. The mean age of the respondents was 27 ± 5.1 years, majority of them (52.1%) were either unemployed or unskilled workers and 42.9% of them had tertiary education. Awareness and knowledge of HIV/ AIDS was high, (95.8%) and (86.7%) respectively. Majority of the respondents (55.6%) were also assessed as having a positive attitude to people living with HIV/AIDS (PLWHA). There was a statistically significant association between good knowledge of HIV/AIDS and a positive attitude to PLWHA (P=0.000) and a high educational status with a positive attitude to PLWHA (P=0.009).

Conclusion

combating stigma and discrimination is an important process in controlling the epidemic. Specific information and counseling interventions aimed at dispelling misconceptions about HIV/AIDS should be reinforced.     

Characteristics of African-American college students with HIV/AIDS.

This article examines the risky sexual behaviors, condom and drug usage, sexually transmitted diseases (STDs), and attitudes of African-American college students with the human immunodeficiency virus (HIV), which is the precursor of the acquired immunodeficiency syndrome (AIDS). A total of 408 (199 males, 209 females) African-American college students, representing 75% of the students enrolled in a southern university, were surveyed. The results revealed that 3.18% of the students reported having HIV/AIDS. The students with HIV/AIDS exhibited significant deficits in AIDS knowledge, particularly information concerning the transmission of HIV/AIDS. While subjects with HIV/AIDS did not differ from subjects without HIV/AIDS with regard to their perceived risk of being exposed to AIDS or their attitudes about using condoms, a significantly larger percentage of subjects with HIV/AIDS reported that they "always" used condoms with their partner. Nevertheless, subjects with HIV/AIDS were more likely to engage in anal intercourse, experience sex with prostitutes, and use drugs. Sexually transmitted diseases were more prevalent among subjects with HIV/AIDS, and syphilis was found to be the best predictor of HIV/AIDS.     

某学院医学生艾滋病知识、态度与行为调查

目的了解医学生艾滋病知识、态度和相关行为,为医学院校开展艾滋病健康教育提供科学依据。方法采用整群随机抽样的方法,抽取咸宁学院医学生共260人,通过匿名自填式问卷调查的方式,对艾滋病知识、态度、行为进行调查。结果医学生艾滋病基本知识的答对率大部分在80%以上,但仍有40%左右的学生不能正确判断蚊虫叮咬能否传播艾滋病。对于共用剃须刀、牙刷能否传播艾滋病的答对率不同年级之间的差异有统计学意义（P〈0.05）;在对AIDS患者的态度上,80%以上的学生觉得应该对艾滋病患者的隐私保密。回答愿意与感染了艾滋病的同学交往和愿意照顾患有艾滋病的亲属的人数从低到高年级呈上升趋势;在艾滋病相关行为上,80%以上的学生表示怀疑患艾滋病后会选择公立医院就医,但仍有少数同学会选择去私立诊所或自己买药等方式处理。结论大部分医学生对艾滋病的基本知识掌握较好,但对传播途径仍存在一些误区。建议今后在医学生中加强性道德和医学伦理学的教育,引导学生增强自我保护意识,促进他们对AIDS的认识与态度、行为统一。     

Parents' Contributions to Children's Knowledge and Attitudes Regarding AIDS: Another Look

Attempted to determine, using a sample of students in Grades3, 5, and 7, whether parent-child communication about AIDS andparent knowledge of AIDS predict children's knowledge, socialattitudes, and worry regarding AIDS, partially replicating testsby Sigelman, Derenowski, Mullaney, and Siders (1993) of maineffects, interaction, and potentiation models of parent-childsocialization. Most parents had talked to their children aboutAIDS but many were susceptible to myths about HIV transmission.Child age was the strongest predictor of accurate knowledgeand positive attitudes, but gender, ethnicity, and parent educationalso made modest contributions. Consistent with the potentiationmodel, parent knowledge of common transmission myths predictedchild knowledge of those same myths (and willingness to interactwith individuals who have AIDS as well) only when parent-childcommunication about AIDS was relatively extensive (and onlywhen child rather than parent reported it). Findings suggestthat both the quantity and quality of parental messages mustbe considered by socialization researchers but that parentsmay not be the primary socializers of knowledge and attitudesregarding AIDS and other health issues.     

Knowledge of HIV/AIDS and attitude towards voluntary counseling and testing among adults

BACKGROUND: Nigeria has the third highest population of people living with human immunodeficiency virus (HIV). Despite this, the knowledge of HIV/AIDS and uptake of voluntary counseling and testing (VCT) is still low, especially in the rural areas. This study assessed knowledge of HIV/AIDS and attitude towards VCT among adults in a rural community in northern Nigeria. METHODS: A pretested questionnaire was administered on a cross-section of 210 adults in Danbare village, northern Nigeria. Information about knowledge of HIV/AIDS and attitudes toward VCT was elicited among respondents. RESULTS: The majority of respondents (59%) did not know the causative agent of AIDS; however, knowledge of route of disease transmission was high, with 71% and 64% of study participants mentioning sexual activity and unscreened blood transfusion, respectively, as possible transmission routes. Respondents listed avoidance of premarital sex, outlawing prostitution, condom use and screening of blood before transfusion as protective measures. Overall, 58 (27.6%), 80 (38.1%) and 72 (34.3%) of the respondents had good, fair and poor knowledge of HIV/AIDS, respectively. After adjusting for confounders, female gender and formal education remained significant predictors of HIV/AIDS knowledge. Reasons for rejection of VCT included fear of stigma, marital disharmony, incurable nature of the disease and cost of treatment. Formal education, female gender and HIV knowledge significantly predicted positive attitude toward VCT for HIV/AIDS among the study population. CONCLUSION: More than half of the respondents had adequate knowledge of HIV/AIDS, and the majority were willing to have VCT. However, misconceptions, fear, gaps in knowledge and limited access to VCT remain prevalent. Our findings suggest the need to provide health education and scale up VCT services in northern Nigeria by targeting the efforts of international and local development partners to underserved rural areas.     

AIDS knowledge and attitudes in Iran: results from a population-based survey in Tehran

A population-based study was conducted to investigate about AIDS knowledge and attitudes among the general public in Tehran, Iran. Using a short questionnaire a random sample of 1172 individuals aged between 15 and 65 years were interviewed. The mean age of the respondents was 34.8 (S.D. = 12.9) years, 52% were male and mostly married (70%), and had received secondary education or above (84%). The findings indicated that the respondents had a fairly good to excellent knowledge about AIDS. The correct answers ranged from 53% to about 99%. Also the results showed that the majority of the respondents were strongly agree or agree with the statement that people with AIDS should have social right to study or work (84%) or with the statement that AIDS is a public health problem (98.7%). The majority of the respondents (87%) said that the mass media including radio, television and newspapers were the main source of their information about HIV/AIDS. The findings from this study indicate that although misconception exist among Iranian about AIDS, in general they have fairly good knowledge and have positive attitudes towards AIDS and people with AIDS. Such findings suggest that prevention programs should be encouraged and these might have the potential role to limit the emergence of Iran's HIV/AIDS epidemic.     

校医对艾滋病知识、态度、行为的调查

目的 了解校医对艾滋病的偏见或歧视行为,分析其影响因素,并对减少歧视的方法进行初步调查.方法 采用横断面研究方法,于2015年4-7月在洛阳市6个区分别随机选取6所学校,在每个学校选择3名校医(总计92人),采取封闭式问卷调查的方式,对调查对象人口特征、艾滋病态度、艾滋病知识、造成歧视的原因以及减少歧视的办法进行了调查.结果 在被调查对象中,79.4％对因卖血、输血患病者表示值得同情,90.2％对母婴传播而患病者表示同情,90.3％对因吸毒而患病表示不值得同情,64.1％对因性接触而患病表示不值得同情.80.6％的调查对象不会购买感染者家生产的食品,65.0％的调查对象禁止子女接触感染者子女.不同年龄调查对象对艾滋病歧视程度有统计学差异(x2=10.776,P ＜0.05).不同性别被调查对象,艾滋病知识评分高低与艾滋病歧视行为持有率无统计学差异(P＞0.05).结论 虽然洛阳市校医对艾滋病的防治知识知晓率较高,但部分校医仍然存在对艾滋病的歧视和偏见,应采取有针对性的措施减少歧视行为.     

HIV/AIDS and antiretroviral treatment knowledge, attitudes, beliefs, and practices in HIV-infected adults in Soweto, South Africa

A cross-sectional study of knowledge, attitudes, beliefs, and practices (KABPs) toward HIV and antiretroviral therapy (ART) was conducted in Soweto, South Africa, using a standardized validated questionnaire. Of 105 HIV clinic patients evaluated, 70% of whom were not on ART, 89% had good knowledge about the cause of HIV infection and 83% knew about modes of transmission. Fifty-nine percent reported they were not worried about ART side effects. Sixty-five percent agreed that missing ART doses can lead to disease progression. Ninety percent had disclosed their HIV serostatus to 1 or more persons, but only 62% of those with a current sexual partner reported having told that partner. Approximately 80% reported that if they were taking ART, they would not be worried about family or friends finding out. Forty-nine percent believed that ART can cure HIV, a belief that was associated with a low level of education (P<0.001). Overall, knowledge of the cause of HIV/AIDS, modes of transmission, and importance of ART adherence was good in our study population. Further research is warranted to assess the extent to which this knowledge and attendant attitudes predict ART adherence levels. The low rate of HIV serostatus disclosure to sexual partners calls for multidimensional interventions to reduce HIV-related stigma.     

Characteristics and knowledge about HIV/AIDS and drug abuse associated with inmates education level within prison populations in Singkawang, West Borneo in 2006

AIM: to identify the characteristics and knowledge of inmates within prison population in Singkawang city about HIV/AIDS and drugs associated with their education level. METHODS: a cross-sectional study with 240 respondents was conducted in Singkawang City, West Borneo. The subjects were inmates of prison population. They were interviewed by co-assistant doctors who completed the questionnaire forms about various aspects of knowledge about HIV/AIDS and drugs, including the application of standardized scales on subject characteristics. Data was prepared by using Microsoft Excel 2000 and all data were evaluated by univariate and bivariate analyses. The presentation will be shown in table. RESULTS: at the end of 2006, 91.25% respondents were male and mostly were Malay ethnic group. Moreover, 32.08% of them had formal educational background of Senior High School. Approximately 83.33% of respondents had discovered their status of HIV/AIDS by voluntary counseling and testing (VCT). Their level of knowledge about HIV/AIDS issue particularly that AIDS is caused by HIV was 90.42%. Approximately 48.33% respondents agreed that the risk factor for drug abuse was living with a family member who had taken up smoking and alcoholic consumption. CONCLUSION: our data indicate that higher education level has better contribution to the better knowledge about HIV/AIDS and drugs.     

Imbalanced effector and regulatory cytokine responses may underlie mycobacterial immune restoration disease

Background

Acquired Immunodeficiency Syndrome (AIDS) has become an important public health hazard in Iran. It is believed that AIDS-related knowledge does not necessarily translate into behavior modification. Hence, it has been suggested that culturally appropriate educational campaigns should be implemented to obtain satisfactory outcomes. Here, we evaluated the female high school students' attitude towards HIV/AIDS in Tabriz, Iran to assess the cultural needs for the related educational programs and to discover sources of information about AIDS.

Results

Anonymous, self-administered questionnaires were filled by the young female students. Among 300 students, 91% agreed that being an HIV carrier should not be an obstacle to obtaining education and employment. Moreover, 72.5% of the students declared that the community should be informed of HIV-positive people. In addition, one-tenth declared that they would feel extremely uncomfortable towards their HIV infected classmate. In addition, only 16% of the students stated that they would continue to shop at HIV infected grocer's store. The mass media and the experts were the major source and the most reliable source of information about AIDS, respectively.

Conclusion

Tabrizian female students have overall negative attitudes towards HIV/AIDS. HIV/AIDS related educational campaigns should target the students, society and the families with emphasizing the leading roles of health staff.     

Knowledge,attitude and practices of health personnel with regard to HIV/AIDS in Tamatave (Madagascar)

BACKGROUND: Health care workers are key players in the prevention and management of HIV-infection. We surveyed HIV/AIDS-related knowledge, attitudes and practices of health care workers in Tamatave (Madagascar), to assess the feasibility of voluntary counselling and testing for HIV infection in antenatal care. MATERIALS AND METHOD: A Knowledge Attitude and Practice study was conducted during July 2000 in the antenatal health care centres and the hospital of Tamatave. The health workers completed a self-administrated questionnaire on HIV transmission, attitudes and practices regarding AIDS testing and counselling, HIV risk perception and attitudes regarding patients with HIV disease. RESULTS: A 90% response rate was obtained, with completed questionnaires from 45 health care workers. The sample included physicians, midwives, nurses, medical students and nursing auxiliaries. Scientific knowledge about transmissibility of HIV infection was poor: transmission was believed possible by living together without having sex (7%), by breastfeeding a HIV-positive child (9%), by using toilets after a HIV-positive patient (13%) and by blood donation (76%). 73% of the health staff believed a child born of an HIV-positive woman would systematically be infected and interventions to reduce this risk were unknown. Sixty one per cent of the health-workers reported never having advised patients to be tested and less then 10% mentioned correct counselling precautions. Seventy nine percent believed that they were at risk of acquiring AIDS, mainly through occupational exposure. Negative attitudes towards HIV-positive patients were also noted: twenty per cent of the health workers mentioned that AIDS patients should be isolated in quarantine. Physicians and paramedical staff differed only in their better knowledge about transmissibility of HIV. Physicians had the same restrictive attitude towards patients with HIV as paramedical health workers and did not differ by their counselling practice. CONCLUSIONS: Our study revealed gaps in the knowledge of health care workers about HIV infection. Before implementing voluntary counselling and testing in antenatal care, additional HIV/AIDS training for health staff seems necessary.     

Misperceptions about HIV transmission among heterosexual African-American and Latino men and women

This research was conducted to identify myths and misperceptions about HIV/AIDS and barriers to risk reduction among heterosexual African-American and Latino-American men and women in Houston, Texas. Sixty four Latino-American and 69 African-American men and women, aged 13 to 59 years, participated in 10 and 11 focus groups, respectively. Each group was audiotaped, transcribed, and analyzed using theme and domain analysis. The data confirmed the existence of myths and misperceptions among both groups about HIV/AIDS, specifically that HIV is an agent of genocide, suspicion of government information, belief that one can identify risky partners by odor and appearance, that partners' reported histories are accurate, significant misperceptions as to the meaning of "safe sex" (particularly in women), and belief that specific classes of people (not including oneself) are at risk for HIV. These data strongly suggest that concentration on narrow targeting of misinformation common in particular minority populations is important in the development of HIV/AIDS prevention programs.     

AIDS knowledge and educational needs of technical university students in Turkey

AIDS is a main health problem of the recent century and is now considered a very important cause for mortality and morbidity among young people. The aim of this research is to determine the Turkish university students knowledge, sexual risk behavior, attitude towards AIDS and educational needs concerning AIDS. A cross-sectional exploratory design is utilized in this study. One thousand four hundred and twenty-seven university new registrants from the Middle East Technical University participated and answered a 32-item self-administered questionnaire. The questionnaire addressed sociodemographics, sexual risk behavior, self-assessed knowledge on HIV transmission and AIDS, attitudes towards AIDS infection and AIDS patient, source of information and need for AIDS course. The response rate was 84%. Two hundred and seventy-one (19%) participants had sexual intercourse. Eighty-one (30%) participants reported condom use during the last encounter. Seven hundred and twenty-four (51%) stated they knew "very much" about AIDS. Students of faculty of engineering (n=384, 69%), economic and administrative sciences (n=115, 55%), and architecture (n=42, 52%) declared they knew "very much" on AIDS and had a higher frequency as the students from the faculty of arts and sciences (n=119, 43%) and education (n=64, 40%). Television was reported as the major source of information about AIDS (n=871, 61%). Students in faculty of education had lower scores than others (P=0.01). Almost all students stated that there should be a course on AIDS in their curriculum. Educational and medical institutions are the minor information sources for students at universities. Therefore, schools have to integrate new courses on AIDS and sexual health in their curricula, physicians caring for these students have to take more time for health education.     

Country watch. Mexico

Latin American pharmacies are low-cost, easy access centers for medical diagnosis, counseling, and treatment. The Mexican Institute for Research on the Family and Population therefore assessed the feasibility of training pharmacists to provide AIDS/STD education in Mexico City. Initial studies found pharmacy employees lacking accurate information on transmission, prevention, and symptoms, but clients nevertheless asking them about the topics. Training materials were developed with the help of feedback from focus groups and pharmacy workers city-wide were invited to participate in a program comparing between four interventions. One group attended a pharmaceutical plant tour, one received informational materials, one participated in the training course, and one attended the course and received informational materials. The training course was eight hours long on HIV/AIDS symptoms, evolution and effects; HIV transmission; prevention measures; attitudes and myths related to HIV/AIDS; and counseling clients. The study found that short, intense training reinforced with instructional and curricular materials can significantly increase the level of pharmacy employees' knowledge. Exposure to printed materials alone failed to have a substantial impact upon knowledge or condom sales. Few participants from any group transferred knowledge to clients, with lack of time cited as a contributory factor. It is concluded that more training and reinforcement are needed to encourage pharmacy workers to volunteer information to clients.     

Acceptance of a potential HIV/AIDS vaccine among minority women

PURPOSE: To explore the attitudes, opinions and concerns of minority women regarding acceptance of a potential HIV/ AIDS vaccine. METHODS: In-depth interviews were conducted with high-risk minority women (> or =18 years of age) attending an urban Atlanta health clinic specializing in sexually transmitted diseases, including HIV/AIDS prevention and treatment. Interviews were transcribed and content analyzed to identify common factors related to acceptance of an HIV/AIDS vaccine. RESULTS: Nine major themes were identified. These were general acceptance of an HIV/AIDS vaccine, concerns about the vaccine, vaccine knowledge, testing and research, provider recommendation, mistrust, alternative medicine, misperceptions and vaccine accessibility/availability. A strong theme emerged about the need for information from HIV/AIDS vaccine clinical trials, including the demographics of the studies' volunteer base, to inform decision-making about taking an HIV/AIDS vaccine in the future. CONCLUSIONS: Although fewer than half of the women indicated they would receive or recommend the vaccine, most agreed that development of a vaccine was an important endeavor. The findings of this study may assist in future efforts to determine how best to promote acceptance of an HIV/AIDS vaccine to minority women should one become available.     

Longitudinal change in HIV transmission risk behaviors by gay male physicians

Gay male physicians were surveyed in 1984 and 1985 about their knowledge and attitudes regarding HIV transmission and AIDS and changes they had made in social, health-related, and sexual activities since the onset of the AIDS epidemic. Most of the 37 subjects who participated in both surveys progressively lessened their participation in HIV transmission risk behaviors over time. Health belief, AIDS knowledge, health coping, social support, mood state, and age factors all contributed to changes in sexual behavior. The modeling of sexual-behavior changes showed general stability over time. This study provides further evidence that multiple psychosocial factors are associated with changes in sexual behavior, even in gay male physicians.     

2009年深圳市暗娼综合监测调查报告

目的了解深圳市娱乐场所暗娼AIDS知识和相关危险行为,为AIDS行为干预措施提供依据。方法按国家综合监测点方案的抽样方法抽取4个区娱乐场所暗娼426名,采用一对一匿名的问卷方式进行调查和采血。结果调查对象平均年龄为（23.5±4.9）岁,暗娼AIDS知识较缺乏。其中,蚊虫钉咬会感染艾滋病全对率为35.2%、同桌吃饭会感染艾滋病全对率为67.6%、不共用注射器能预防艾滋病全对率为89.4%、AIDS传播途径全对率为77.6%。安全套使用率低,最近一次与客人发生性关系时只有68.0%的暗娼使用安全套。426名暗娼中未发现HIV感染者,感染梅毒的有19例,占4.5%。结论多数暗娼对艾滋病的严重性认识不足,在卖淫活动中未能100%地使用安全套进行安全的性行为,存在着感染与传播艾滋病的高危险性,应加强综合监测与科学防控。     

Gender differences among oral health care workers in caring for HIV/AIDS patients in Osun State, Nigeria

The study investigated the relationship between gender and knowledge, attitude and practice of infection control among oral health care workers in the management of patients with HIV/AIDS in Osun State of Nigeria. It was a cross-sectional survey using 85 oral Health care workers (OHCWs) enlisted in the public dental health clinics. A self-administered questionnaire was designed and used for data collection. A total of 85 questionnaires were distributed. The response rate was 93%; 42 (53%) were males and 37 (47%) females. The majority of the respondents were in the 25-40 year old age group and the mean age was 37.3 years. This study found significant differences in gender and ability to identify HIV/AIDS oral manifestations (p<0.001) and recognition of HIV/AIDS risk factors (p<0.001). There was statistically significant gender difference and infection control practices (p=0.02) among the OHCWs. Males were more compliant to the universal cross-infection control principle than the female respondents. A significant association (p< 0.001) was found between OHCW gender and their attitude to the management of HIV/AIDS patients with males showing a better attitude towards the care of HIV/AIDS patients. This study shows that there are significant gender difference in attitudes, behaviour and practices of OHCW with males faring better than the females. National AIDS Control Programme, Health Control bodies, Health educators and other organizations should make efforts to improve the attitude and practice of oral health care workers regarding the management of patients with HIV/AIDS.