Factors associated with AIDS risk behaviors among high school students in an AIDS epicenter.

BACKGROUND. A greater understanding of the determinants of risky behaviors is an essential precursor to the development of successful AIDS prevention programs for adolescents. METHODS. A survey measuring AIDS-related behaviors, beliefs, and knowledge was administered to a sample of 531 10th-grade students residing in an AIDS epicenter. RESULTS. Of the 56.8% of students reporting past-year involvement in sexual intercourse, 67.3% reported unprotected intercourse with low-risk partners, 1.3% reported unprotected intercourse with high-risk partners, and 6.6% reported a past-year history of a sexually transmitted disease. Students whose friends had intercourse and never or inconsistently used condoms, who personally sanctioned intercourse involvement, who believed that the majority of their peers had intercourse, and who perceived low preventive action self-efficacy, were 5.1, 3.0, 2.1, 3.7, and 2.8 times more likely, respectively, to score in the riskier categories of an AIDS behavior index. CONCLUSIONS. These findings suggest that addressing socioenvironmental influences on risky and preventive behaviors may prove to be the most effective AIDS prevention strategy among adolescents.     

Adolescents' knowledge about vaccines in the Family Health Strategy environment

The study aimed to identify the knowledge of adolescents, residents in an area where the Family Health Strategy is present, about the vaccination calendar and acquired protection. The nature of this inquiry was quantitative, sectional and it was developed through home inquiry, from 2008 March to April. The data had been typed and processed by using the Epi-Info software. It was noted that the adolescents in this study were unaware of the recommended vaccines present in the Ministry of Health calendar. Considering that the study was carried out in Family Health Strategy environment and being the vaccine a priority action, it was expected to find a population more aware on the vaccination calendar.     

Subjective knowledge of AIDS and use of HIV testing.

Increasing knowledge is an important goal of human immunodeficiency virus (HIV) prevention strategies, although increased knowledge may not be associated with increased preventive behaviors. This study examines the association of (1) objective and subjective acquired immunodeficiency syndrome (AIDS) knowledge, and (2) both objective and subjective AIDS knowledge with HIV testing use. Data are from the 1988 National Health Interview Survey. Objective and subjective knowledge were only moderately correlated. In regression analyses, higher subjective knowledge was significantly associated with higher testing use, but objective knowledge was not. The results are relevant to other preventive behaviors for which knowledge is an important factor.     

Sexual risk behaviors, AIDS knowledge, and beliefs about AIDS among runaways.

Sexual risk behaviors, knowledge of acquired immunodeficiency syndrome (AIDS), and beliefs about AIDS prevention were examined among 126 runaways. In the previous 3 months, 65 percent of youths had been sexually active. Among the sexually active runaways, males reported a median of 2.7 partners and females reported 1.3 partners, and only 18 percent reported consistent condom use. Runaways demonstrated moderately high AIDS knowledge and beliefs endorsing AIDS prevention. Condom use and abstinence were directly related to beliefs about preventing AIDS.     

某部新兵艾滋病知识调查

艾滋病的传播在我国已进入快速增长期 ,青年人作为预防艾滋病的生力军 ,是进行宣传教育的重点对象 ,新兵的艾滋病知识掌握程度对部队艾滋病的预防工作起着关键作用。为了解新兵艾滋病相关知识状况 ,对某部 2 0 0 1年度集训新兵进行了艾滋病相关知识 ,行为和态度的调查 ,现将结果报告如下。1　对象与方法1 .1　调查对象　某部 841名集训新兵 (年龄 1 6 a～2 2 a)。1 .2　调查方法　采用统一自制的问卷进行调查 ,以不记名答卷的方式 ,答毕当场收回 ,回收率 1 0 0 %。1 .3　资料处理　将调查问卷整理后录入用 Foxpro软件建立的数据库 ,结果用 …     

Adolescents' knowledge and attitudes concerning HIV infection and HIV-infected persons: how a survey and focus group discussions are suited for researching adolescents' HIV/AIDS knowledge and attitudes

The purpose of this article is to examine how two different corpora of material are suited for researching the sexuality of youth on the basis of material gathered via a structured questionnaire (N = 1183, response rate 87%) and via eight focus group discussions (FGDs), and to investigate the knowledge and opinions of adolescents at the age of 15 years about HIV infection and HIV-infected persons. Both boys and girls showed a good level of knowledge about HIV infection and AIDS. While their level of knowledge was good, their attitude was that the threat of an HIV infection was not a personal issue. Furthermore, negative attitudes to those having HIV/AIDS became more pronounced the more socially distant the infected person was to the respondent. The FGDs presented a more sceptical view of the attitudes of adolescents than the survey, while the knowledge about HIV infection and AIDS was the same regardless of the research method. In the FGDs, girls discussed the topics more extensively than boys, they used longer sentences, there was spontaneous discussion within the groups and the participants commented on each other's opinions. Boys were often content with short dichotomous responses and the interviewers had to qualify the responses with supplementary questions.     

部分艾滋病毒感染者艾滋病知识知晓情况调查

上海市静安区首例艾滋病感染者发现于1995年5月8日。近年来,随着感染者人数的不断增加,艾滋病预防控制工作面临的压力也逐渐增加。在目前艾滋病疫苗尚未问世的情况下,健康教育成为控制艾滋病流行的主要策略,健康教育的目的是将正确全面的信息或知识传递给各类目标人群,而艾滋病感染者／患者作为艾滋病的唯一传染源,其健康教育工作不可忽视。     

Public knowledge and attitudes to AIDS

Three independent cross-sectional surveys of public knowledge and attitudes about AIDS were conducted on a representative sample of people aged 15-54 resident in Wales. 1,303 were interviewed in their homes in February 1987, 683 in September 1987 and 676 in March 1988. The results show that most people knew that having sexual intercourse or sharing needles with people with AIDS represented a high risk of catching AIDS. However there appeared to be considerable misunderstanding about the nature of HIV infection such that one in three thought that a man and woman with a single heterosexual partner was at high or moderate risk of catching AIDS. The high level of concern coupled with considerable confusion appears to have contributed to both unnecessary anxiety and prejudice. One in four people thought that kissing or being spat on by a person with AIDS represented a high or moderate risk, and one in six thought that coughing, sneezing and sharing towels, soap, drinking utensils or lavatory seats were routes of transmission. More than 50% of men and 40% of women said that it was their own fault if homosexuals and drug addicts got AIDS and did not feel sorry for them. It is concluded that action to date to limit the spread of AIDS has informed but not yet adequately educated the public. If unwanted anxieties and prejudice are to be diminished, initiatives by government, health services and others must now concentrate on developing understanding about the nature of HIV infection and its spread through more personal education.(ABSTRACT TRUNCATED AT 250 WORDS)     

Awareness and knowledge of AIDS in Zambia

Acquired immunodeficiency syndrome (AIDS) is a global concernthat has forced the governments of many countries to mount massivecampaigns to educate their citizens about the deadly disease.Zambia is no exception. In doing so, the Ministry of Healthof Zambia takes cognisance of the need to complement mass mediawith face-to-face communication, as well as targeting messagesto specific groups with high-risk behaviour. The Health EducationUnit is also sensitive to the results of internal evaluationwhich are utilized to chart the future course of the educationcampaign. This paper demonstrates to those implementing AIDScampaigns the importance of conducting and utilizing the resultsof evaluation to feedback into their programme.     

外来女工艾滋病相关知识知晓情况及需求

艾滋病（AIDS）的传播、流行与人们的不良健康行为有密切关系．通过健康教育,能够提高人们的自我保护意识,降低危险行为的发生。为此,于2005年3月对江门市某一工业区500名外来女工进行AIDS相关知识、态度、健康教育需求进行调查,旨在了解江门市外来女工对AIDS知识知晓情况及需求,为今后有针对性地开展健康教育提供依据。     

AIDS knowledge and attitudes among adolescents in the rural southwest.

A survey of adolescents living in rural southwestern towns demonstrated their knowledge of the basic transmission routes of Acquired Immune Deficiency Syndrome (AIDS). Nevertheless, misconceptions and attitudes, which may interfere with adopting safe behaviors, persist. Significant differences in knowledge did exist between the ethnic groups surveyed. Further, American Indian and black adolescents were more likely to express attitudinal biases against people who have AIDS. We conclude that current media efforts have been successful in communicating basic information regarding transmission, but there may exist a need for ethnically specific programs that focus on the misconceptions and attitudes surrounding AIDS.     

The knowledge, attitudes and concerns of hospital staff about AIDS.

Staff from 3 Toronto hospitals were surveyed for knowledge, attitudes and concerns about AIDS. 70% of the 1,366 respondents had direct clinical experience with persons with AIDS. Data were analyzed according to hospital setting and professional group: physicians, nurses, technologists and supervisory staff. No setting difference was observed and although statistically significant differences (at the .001 level) were observed between professional groups, these differences are small and have little practical importance. In general, subjects answered 68% of the knowledge questions correctly. All attitudes and concerns were inversely associated to knowledge (Pearson r range was -.31 to -.20). Multivariate analysis demonstrated that knowledge and concern about contagion are important mediating variables (multiple r = .40) for other attitudes and concerns.     

Sexual practices and AIDS knowledge among women partners of HIV-infected hemophiliacs.

About 12 percent of the women sex partners of hemophilic men who are seropositive for the human immunodeficiency virus (HIV) have themselves become seropositive. Questionnaires were completed in January 1988 by 15 women who were in long-term, monogamous relationships with HIV-positive hemophiliacs; 11 of the women were not HIV seropositive and 4 were. None of the couples was abstaining from sexual intercourse, and during the 4 weeks prior to responding, the couples had intercourse a mean of 6.2 times. Sixty percent always used condoms, 13 percent did so most of the time, and the remaining 27 percent did sometimes. Condom use was not significantly related to either frequency of intercourse, the women's knowledge of acquired immunodeficiency syndrome (AIDS) and AIDS-risk reduction, the actual HIV status of both partners and the women's perceived status of both, the extent of the women's worry about contracting AIDS, their reported degree of negative impact from AIDS, or to their mood, age, or education. All women who reported not always using condoms had been informed of their own and their partner's HIV status; were counseled repeatedly regarding risk reduction; acknowledged the possibility of heterosexual HIV transmission; said they knew of recommendations for the use of condoms; recognized their risk of HIV infection; claimed some degree of worry about acquiring HIV through sexual activity; had children at home; and were not, with one exception, trying to become pregnant. There were several possible factors influencing the decision by women at high risk for acquiring HIV not to use condoms. Among them were complaints that the women found condoms unpleasant or an unwanted reminder of AIDS, a sense of obligation or a drive to continue unaltered sexual relations, the false reassurance of HIV-negative test results for some of the women who did not always use condoms, a willingness to sacrifice and to share their partner's fate, a desire to avoid communicating rejection and adding to their partner's burdens, and difficulty changing long-standing behavior patterns despite logical understanding of the risks involved.     

Adolescents and AIDS: a survey of knowledge, attitudes and beliefs about AIDS in San Francisco.

To assess adolescents' knowledge, attitudes, and beliefs about AIDS in San Francisco, data were obtained from 1,326 adolescents. There was marked variability in knowledge across informational items, particularly about the precautionary measures to be taken during sexual intercourse which may reduce the risk of infection. We conclude that development and implementation of school health education programs on AIDS and other sexually transmitted diseases are needed in this population.