HIV/AIDS knowledge and attitudes among alcohol and drug abusers in Egypt

The aim of this study was to assess knowledge, attitudes and practice towards HIV/AIDS among alcohol and drug abusers and the effect of health education (HE) on their knowledge and attitudes. Participants were 265 substance abusers, recruited from 8 addiction rehabilitation centers. A base line study preceding HE was done using a questionnaire composed of five sections. Three scores were developed to assess HIV/AIDS related knowledge. The base line study indicates that addicts with good knowledge scores > or =75%) regarding modes of transmission were significantly higher among males than females. About 70% of the addicts had negative attitudes towards dealing with HIV/AIDS patients, while 55.5% felt sympathy for them. Eleven percent of the injection drug abusers were sharing needle with others, while 38% of the participating females were previously convicted of prostitution. Logistic analysis showed that high level of education was the best predictive variable for good knowledge scores (> or =75%). Evaluation of the health education program revealed a highly significant increase in the knowledge scores among both males and females compared to the pretest scores. An increase in the percentages of male and female addicts with improved attitudes towards HIV/AIDS patients was also noted after HE. So, HE was found to be a successful tool in improving the knowledge and attitudes of substance abusers towards HIV/AIDS.