Knowledge of and attitudes to HIV/AIDS of senior secondary school pupils and trainee teachers in Udupi District, Karnataka, India

Acceptability of HIV oral self-test among truck drivers and youths: a qualitative investigation from Pune, Maharashtra

Background

Ending AIDS by 2030 is a global target, to which India is a signatory. HIV-self-test (HIVST) coupled with counselling and AIDS-care, including antiretroviral therapy, has the potential to achieve this. However, national programs are at varying stages of acceptance of HIVST, as discussions around its introduction spark controversy and debates. HIV-self-test, as yet, is not part of the AIDS control program in India. Against this backdrop, we explored acceptability of an HIV oral self-test (HIVOST) among truckers and young men and women.

Methods

A qualitative investigation with 41 in-depth-interviews and 15 group discussions were conducted in the district of Pune, in the western state of Maharashtra, India. These interactions were built around a prototype HIVOST kit, helped in taking the discussions forward. The software N-vivo (version 11.0) was used to manage the volumes of data generated through the aforementioned process. The study was conducted during June through December, 2019.

Results

While the truckers belonged to the age bracket 21–67 year, the youths were in the age group 18–24 year. ‘Ease of doing HIVOST’ and ‘fear of needle pricks’ were the reasons behind acceptance around HIVOST by both the study groups. Truckers felt that HIVOST would encourage one to know one’s HIV status and seek help as appropriate. Accuracy of HIVOST result and disposal of the kits following use were concerns of a few. Most of the participants preferred saliva over blood as the specimen of choice. Instructions in local language reportedly would enable test-use by self. The truck drivers preferred undertaking HIVOST at the truckers-friendly ‘Khushi clinics’ or in the vehicle, while youths preferred the privacy of home. Some of the young men mis-perceived the utility of HIVOST by referring to doing a test on a partner immediately prior to sexual encounter. On the other hand, a few truckers had wrong information on HIV cure.

Conclusions

Overall, the study communities expressed their acceptance towards HIV-self-test. The National AIDS Control Program, India would benefit by drawing upon the findings of the current investigation. Existing myths and misconceptions around HIV test and treatment require program attention.

Supplementary Information

The online version contains supplementary material available at 10.1186/s12889-021-11963-7.

A latent trait approach to measuring HIV/AIDS related stigma in healthcare professionals: application of mokken scaling technique

BACKGROUND

The attitudes of healthcare professionals towards HIV positive patients and high risk groups are central to the quality of care and therefore to the management of HIV/AIDS related stigma in health settings. Extant HIV/AIDS stigma scales that measure stigmatising attitudes towards people living with HIV/AIDS have been developed using scaling techniques such as principal component analysis. This approach has resulted in instruments that are often long. Mokken scale analysis is a nonparametric hierarchical scaling technique that can be used to develop unidimensional cumulative scales. This technique is advantageous over the other approaches; as the scales are usually shorter, while retaining acceptable psychometric properties. Moreover, Mokken scales also make no distributional assumptions about the underlying data, other than that the data are capable of being ordered by item and by person. In this study we aimed at developing a precise and concise measure of HIV/AIDS related stigma among health care professionals, using Mokken scale analysis.

METHODS

We carried out a cross sectional survey of healthcare students at the Monash University campuses in Malaysia and Australia. The survey consisted of demographic questions and an initial item pool of twenty five potential questions for inclusion in an HIV stigma scale.

RESULTS

We analysed the data using the mokken package in the R statistical environment providing a 9-item scale with high reliability, validity and acceptable psychometric properties, measuring and ranking the HIV/AIDS related stigmatising attitudes.

CONCLUSION

Mokken scaling procedure not only produced a comprehensive hierarchical scale that could accurately order a person along HIV/AIDS stigmatising attitude, but also demonstrated a unidimensional and reliable measurement tool which could be used in future studies. The principal component analysis confirmed the accuracy of the Mokken scale analysis in correctly detecting the unidimensionality of this scale. We recommend future works to study the generalisability of this scale in a new population.

Knowledge, Attitude, and Practice of Clerical Students with Respect to HIV/AIDS in Iran, 2011

In this study, knowledge and attitude of Iranian clerical students toward HIV and AIDS was assessed. Through a cross-sectional study, 367 clerical students were surveyed, in convenience sampling method, in the Qom seminary in 2011, utilizing a self-administered structured questionnaire. The questionnaire was piloted on 20 clerical student volunteers, internal consistency measured with Cronbach's alpha was 0.89. Participants' scores of knowledge and attitude were calculated out of 100. The level of knowledge in 37.33 % of participants was good (scores >80), whereas 46.05 and 16.62 % had moderate (40 < scores ≤ 80) and poor (scores ≤40) levels of knowledge, respectively. The mean score of knowledge and attitude was 58.29 (95 % CI 56.11-60) and 77.26 (95 % CI 75.92-78.59) out of 100, respectively. A significant correlation was observed between level of knowledge and attitude (r = 0.33, P < 0.001). Knowledge score appeared to be significantly higher in women compared to men (p = 0.04). With an increase in age, the level of knowledge significantly decreased (r = -0.10, P = 0.02). We could also detect a statistically significant relationship between attending educational courses on HIV/AIDS and inclusion of HIV/AIDS topics in the individual's sermons (P < 0.001). Although clerical students had shown some sort of positive attitudes toward HIV, their knowledge still needs to be improved to enable them to deliver more accurate information to the community during the course of their speeches. Having HIV-related courses as part of their curriculum or aside may contribute a lot to this.

Iranians' Attitudes About Possible Human Immunodeficiency Virus Transmission in Dental Settings

We conducted a cross-sectional survey from October through December 2004 of 8,312 residents of Shiraz, Iran, to investigate Iranians' perceptions about undergoing dental treatment in dental offices where other patients or the dentist and/or dental assistants are infected with human immunodeficiency virus (HIV). Most survey respondents (83%) had acceptable general knowledge about the mode of transmission of HIV and about acquired immunodeficiency syndrome (AIDS); however, many misconceptions were observed. A negative association was detected between the level of concern about contracting HIV/AIDS and the intention to continue treatment in services where patients with HIV/AIDS were also treated or where the dentist and/or dental assistants had HIV/AIDS.

Beyond controversies: sexuality education for adolescents in India

Sexuality education for adolescents is one of the most controversial topics in the field of child health. In the past decade, policymakers in India have also struggled with the issue and there has been greater public discourse. However, policymaking and public discussions on adolescent sexuality education are frequently fueled by religious, social, and cultural values, while receiving scant scientific attention. To meet the needs of an expanding young population in India, scientific evidence for best practices must be kept at the core of policymaking in the context of sexuality education for adolescents.

Knowledge, attitude, and beliefs of young, college student blood donors about Human immunodeficiency virus

Introduction:

Young people, who tend to be healthy, idealistic, and motivated, are an excellent pool of potential voluntary unpaid blood donors. Recruiting and retaining young blood donors improves the long term safety and sufficiency of a country's blood supply. Knowledge, attitude, and beliefs about Human immunodeficiency virus (HIV) should play an important role in prevention of disease transmission.

Materials and Methods:

This study was a questionnaire based survey, conducted to explore the levels of knowledge, attitude, and beliefs about HIV in young college student blood donors.

Results:

The results showed that the proportion of participants with comprehensive knowledge of HIV prevention and transmission was lesser than expected. Increase in education level and male gender was found to be significantly associated with high HIV-related knowledge. The responses on the different aspects of HIV-related attitude were also varied and there is still stigma associated with Acquired Immunodeficiency Syndrome (AIDS) even in the educated groups.

Discussion:

There was a spectrum of myths and misperceptions emphasizing the need of education that recognizes the social context of attitude towards HIV. Results from this study may contribute to the development of appropriate educational and training material for this group of donors which in turn, may assist in achieving the elusive goal of safe blood supply in future.

Assessment of Knowledge, Attitude, and Practice of Risky Sexual Behavior Leading to HIV and Sexually Transmitted Infections among Egyptian Substance Abusers: A Cross-Sectional Study

Background. Rapidly growing youth population with changing sexual trend in Egypt raised HIV potential. The aim of this study is to assess knowledge, attitude, and practice regarding unsafe sexual behavior among Egyptian drug abusers.Methods. This cross-sectional study was conducted in 2008 in the Freedom Drugs and HIV Program on 410 drug abusers in Egypt. Included respondents were subanalyzed by gender, age, education, and intravenous drug usage.Results. KAP average scores on safe sexual behavior were low compared to the maximum possible denoting low awareness and action of drug addicts towards avoidance of infection. Respondents with higher education had significantly better knowledge about safe sexual behavior. Significant positive correlation was shown between age and knowledge of safe sexual behavior. Older age groups were predicted to know more about safe sex, while gender; educational level and intravenous drug usage were not. Similarly, females and intravenous drug users were predicted to have higher attitude for safe sex while age and educational level did not.Conclusion. KAP of safe sexual behavior were low among drug addicts in Egypt increasing potential towards infection with STDs including HIV. The more the age and education level, the better the knowledge towards safe sexual behavior.

Association of knowledge of HIV and other factors with individuals' attitudes toward HIV infection: a national cross-sectional survey among the Japanese non-medical working population

Background

The stigma of and discrimination because of HIV has been described as the most important obstacle to prevention and treatment efforts. The purpose of this study was to investigate negative attitudes and prejudice toward HIV among the Japanese non-medical working population and to explore contributing factors.

Methods

An online anonymous nationwide survey involving approximately 3,000 individuals was conducted in Japan. Questions ranged from background information and HIV knowledge to individuals’ attitudes towards HIV infection in the workplace. Descriptive statistics and logistic regression were applied for analysis.

Results

Thirty-three percent of participants feared transmission of HIV from infected colleagues, 34% tended to avoid contact with them and 40% had prejudiced opinions about HIV infection. Despite a relatively high level of knowledge of HIV/AIDS overall (11.9±3.3 from 15 points), only 50% of individuals were aware of some issues. Greater knowledge was associated with less negative attitudes towards HIV infection (OR 0.39, 95% CI 0.31–0.48 for prejudiced opinion, high compared with low level of knowledge), whereas greater health consciousness was inversely related to attitude (OR 1.97, 95% CI 1.50–2.58 for prejudiced opinion, high compared with low health consciousness).

Conclusion

Knowledge neutralizes peoples’ negative attitudes towards HIV infection, whereas greater health consciousness may worsen them. Educational programs should balance knowledge with health consciousness to improve the efficacy of HIV interventions.

Professionalisation and social attitudes: a protocol for measuring changes in HIV/AIDS-related stigma among healthcare students

INTRODUCTION

HIV/AIDS-related stigma affects the access and utilisation of health services. Although HIV/AIDS-related stigma in the health services has been studied, little work has attended to the relationship between professional development and stigmatising attitudes. Hence, in this study, we will extend earlier research by examining the relationship between the stage of professional development and the kinds of stigmatising attitudes held about people living with HIV/AIDS.

METHODS AND ANALYSIS

A serial cross-sectional design will be combined with a two-point in time longitudinal design to measure the levels of stigma among healthcare students from each year of undergraduate and graduate courses in Malaysia and Australia. In the absence of suitable measures, we will carry out a sequential mixed methods design to develop such a tool. The questionnaire data will be analysed using mixed effects linear models to manage the repeated measures.

ETHICS AND DISSEMINATION

We have received ethical approval from the Monash MBBS executive committee as well as the Monash University Human Research Ethics Committee. We will keep the data in a locked filing cabinet in the Monash University (Sunway campus) premises for 5 years, after which the information will be shredded and disposed of in secure bins, and digital recordings will be erased in accordance with Monash University's regulations. Only the principal investigator and the researcher will have access to the filing cabinet. We aim to present and publish the results of this study in national and international conferences and peer-reviewed journals, respectively.

Assessment of knowledge, attitude and risk behaviors towards HIV/AIDS and other sexual transmitted infection among preparatory students of Gondar town, north west Ethiopia

Background

The first case of HIV in Ethiopia was reported in 1984. Since then, HIV/AIDS has become a major public health concern in the country, leading the Government of Ethiopia to declare a public health emergency in 2002. Although the epidemic is currently stable, HIV/AIDS remains a major development challenge for Ethiopia. The spread of HIV in any community is in part determined by the knowledge of attitude towards sexuality of its members and by their actual sexual practices. The aim of the study was to assess students' knowledge, attitudes and practices regarding HIV/AIDS and STDs in Gondar, North West Ethiopia.

Methods

A cross sectional study was conducted between February 1 to March 1, 2009 in preparatory high school students. Pre-tested questioner was used to generate the data and analysis was made by SPSS version 15. Chi -square value was calculated and p-value < 0.05 was considered statistically significant.

Results

All the students had heard about AIDS before the interview. Knowledge on some aspect of the disease was quite low in the study group. Only half of the students knew that at present, AIDs is incurable and that HIV infection can be acquired through sexual contact with a 'familiar' person. Knowledge about STI was also quite low, 39% knew that pus in the urine is a symptom of STI and 45.4% knew that acquisition of other STIs is increases the chance of HIV transmission following unsafe sex with known cases. 25% of the study group had previous sexual intercourse and exposed at least one risk behavior. About 34% of the respondents had negative attitude towards AIDS and STDs.

Conclusion

Awareness about STDs and methods of prevention of HIV and STDs was low. More risk behavior was observed in male and those with alcohol and drugs of abuse.

Effects of a rapid peer-based HIV/AIDS educational intervention on knowledge and attitudes of high school students in a high-income Arab country

INTRODUCTION

In response to low knowledge about HIV and intolerant attitudes toward persons living with HIV among Arab university students, a peer-based educational intervention was developed and impact evaluated on knowledge and attitudes of high school students in 2 of 4 main cities of United Arab Emirates.

METHODS

Four small teams of final year medical students, 3 female and 1 male, were trained. Multistage random sampling selected 14 female and 5 male Arab schools, then 56 female and 14 male grade 12 classes in Al Ain and Abu Dhabi. The 90-minute intervention included a factual presentation and 3 attitude workshops. Baseline and postintervention knowledge and attitudes were assessed. Significance was tested by McNemar, Wilcoxon signed rank, and multilevel regression tests.

RESULTS

Response was 99.6%, 1398 females and 505 males. Misconceptions about modes of transmission and intolerant attitudes were evident. Mean knowledge score improved from 65% to 82% and attitude 51% to 64%, that is, relative increase 26% (P < 0.0005). Females had slightly lower baseline knowledge than males but showed greater improvement in knowledge and attitudes (P < 0.0005)

CONCLUSIONS

Grade 12 students' knowledge about HIV/AIDS was inadequate and attitudes stigmatizing. Peer-based knowledge workshops were effective, especially among females. Concise integrated teaching and workshops designed to address key knowledge and attitudinal deficiencies can be highly effective.

HIV/AIDS and Indian youth--a review of the literature (1980-2008)

The main objective of this article is to provide a comprehensive overview of the situation regarding HIV/AIDS among youth in India, and explore the possible strategies that could be effective in combating the spread of this disease. India is in the grip of the HIV/AIDS epidemic, with an increasing number of infections being reported among youth, who comprise a quarter of the population but account for almost one-third of the HIV/AIDS burden. The prevalence in young women appears to be on the rise. Although the majority of youth are aware of the disease, a number of myths and misconceptions still prevail. Furthermore, or as a consequence, a higher percentage of young males report engaging in premarital sexual activity compared with females. Even though condom awareness is fairly high, condom usage is low. Of late, sex tourism and its implications for the HIV/AIDS epidemic present an increasing concern. Indian youth appear to hold negative attitudes towards HIV testing and people living with HIV/AIDS. Although a number of preventive and control programmes and policies exist, these need further strengthening and evaluation.

Knowledge of HIV and AIDS among tertiary students in Bangladesh

To examine the levels and predictors of knowledge on HIV and AIDS, a survey was conducted among 392 tertiary level students in the University of Dhaka, Bangladesh. Students demonstrated a high knowledge of transmission and prevention of HIV and AIDS yet with considerable misconception. All students said that unprotected sex with an HIV-positive man or woman can transmit the HIV virus to a negative man or woman but at the same time 43.6% of students believed that there is a preventive vaccine for HIV and 39.8% understood that HIV can be cured if it is diagnosed early. Multivariate regression analysis indicated that the students who had more knowledge on HIV and AIDS were: older boys, fathers having more income, business or service as father's occupation, having more mass media exposure, being senior students, living in a university dormitory, and being students of faculty of arts, social sciences, and science. The findings of this study suggest that a special course on health education, including risk perceptions of HIV and AIDS and issues related to sexual and other high risk behavior, should be included in the course curricula irrespective of disciplines at tertiary levels.

Break the silence: HIV/AIDS knowledge, attitudes, and educational needs among Arab university students in United Arab Emirates

PURPOSE

In light of increasing spread of human immunodeficiency virus (HIV) in the Middle East, we assessed knowledge, attitudes, and educational needs of young people in United Arab Emirates (UAE), a modern and moderately conservative Islamic country.

METHODS

A cross-sectional survey among randomly selected first-year, gender-segregated Arab students at the national university in Al Ain in 2005 was conducted using an adaptation of an anonymous self-administered World Health Organization questionnaire. Knowledge and attitudes were scored.

RESULTS

Response was 89%; 119 males and 148 females. Knowledge scores about HIV/AIDS were low for 75%, moderate for 24%, high for <1%. Although 90% knew main routes of infection, there were misconceptions about transmission, and only 31% knew there is no vaccine and 34% no cure. Religion was stated as a reason to avoid extramarital relationships by 91% and sexually transmitted diseases (STDs) by 38%; 94% favored premarital testing. Attitudes toward people living with HIV (PLH) were neither friendly nor tolerant, including 97% who felt all people entering UAE should be tested, 53% that PLH should be forced to live apart, and only 27% who felt children with HIV should be allowed to attend school. Ninety-six percent stated that young people should be taught how to protect themselves and 57% that teaching at school was insufficient. Main information sources were books/media; preferred sources were media, schools, and health professionals. Males scored higher on knowledge and were more susceptible to fear of STDs, society, and family; females showed greater compassion and interest in premarital testing and education to protect themselves.

CONCLUSIONS

Alarming gaps in knowledge about transmission and curability put young Arabs at risk of contracting HIV. Fear and intolerant attitudes toward PLH were prevalent. HIV/AIDS education designed to raise knowledge and change attitudes, and respectful of community values, is urgently needed from media, schools, and health professionals.

AIDS knowledge and attitudes in a Turkish population: an epidemiological study

BACKGROUND

The aim of this study was to investigate and present some pertinent comments concerning Acquired Immunodeficiency Syndrome (AIDS) knowledge, attitudes and misconceptions among the general population in a city of west Turkey. This study was deemed important and relevant due to the increasing importance of AIDS in Turkey and the other countries.

METHODS

Using a multistage area sampling method, a random sample of individuals aged 11-83 years, living in 65 different quarters in the city of Eskisehir, Turkey during September, October and November 2004 were interviewed.

RESULTS

In all, 1048 respondents completed the survey. In most items, respondents displayed a fairly good to excellent degree of knowledge about HIV/AIDS. Individuals with higher degrees of education indicated more correct responses in all items relating to knowledge of HIV/AIDS. In general, the respondents' attitudes towards AIDS and people with AIDS were found to be tolerant and positive, with one answer choice showing that the majority of the respondents agreed with the statement that those with HIV/AIDS must be supported, treated and helped (90.7%). Moreover, the proportions of the respondents' misconceptions were found to be significantly low for all the items. However, nearly one fourth of the respondents agreed with the misconceptions 'AIDS is a punishment by God' and 'One is not infected with HIV/AIDS if engaged in sport and well nourished'.

CONCLUSION

In general HIV/AIDS related knowledge was high and people showed positive attitudes. However, people continue to hold misconceptions about AIDS and these need to be addressed by health education programs targeting those at higher risk.

Knowledge and attitude towards HIV/AIDS among Iranian students

Background

Young people are of particular importance in state policies against Acquired Immunodeficiency Syndrome (AIDS). We intended to assess the knowledge and attitude of high school students regarding AIDS in Iran.

Methods

Through a cluster-sampling, 4641 students from 52 high schools in Tehran were assessed by anonymous questionnaires in February 2002.

Results

The students identified television as their most important source of information about AIDS. Only a few students answered all the knowledge questions correctly, and there were many misconceptions about the routes of transmission. Mosquito bites (33%), public swimming pools (21%), and public toilets (20%) were incorrectly identified as routes of transmission. 46% believed that Human Immunodeficiency Virus positive (HIV positive) students should not attend ordinary schools. Most of the students wanted to know more about AIDS. In this study knowledge level was associated with students' attitudes and discipline (p < 0.001).

Conclusion

Although the knowledge level seems to be moderately high, misconceptions about the routes of transmission were common. There was a substantial intolerant attitude towards AIDS and HIV positive patients. We recommend that strategies for AIDS risk reduction in adolescents be developed in Iranian high schools.

Impact of a course on human sexuality and adolescence

OBJECTIVE

This study was conducted as part of a course on Human Sexuality and Adolescence for school children to ascertain the prior knowledge of children, source of their knowledge and whether the course was a felt need of the children.

METHOD

Students were given a questionnaire before the course. Few selected questions were asked again after the last session. The course was conducted in a private co-educational English medium school in urban Bangalore involving 392 students 13-15 years of age. The course was designed by the authors and dealt with anatomy, physiology, social and psychological aspects of growing up, HIV and contraception.

RESULTS

55-70% of class VIII, IX and X students had learnt about sex from friends, 30% from movies, 15% from text books and only 10% from parents. Misconceptions about anatomy, childbirth, HIV were common. 90% of tenth class students felt that education in human sexuality was necessary.

CONCLUSION

In spite of chapters on reproduction in textbooks, children turn to peers or media to gather information on sexuality. Education in human sexuality is required in our schools, as this need is currently not being addressed adequately in our society.

Knowledge about STD/AIDS and sexual behavior among high school students in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil

The incidence of AIDS and other sexually transmitted diseases (STDs) is increasing among adolescents. In order to better understand high-risk sexual behavior among students, a cross-sectional study based on a self-answered anonymous questionnaire was conducted in 10 public and private high schools in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil. Data were obtained on sociodemographics, knowledge of STD/AIDS, and sexual behavior. Among 945 students aged 13-21, 59% were sexually initiated, and the median age at first sexual intercourse was 15 years (range: 7-19). Although 94% reported being aware of the need for condom use for protection, only 34% informed always using condoms during sex. Low family income was associated with unsatisfactory knowledge (OR = 9.40; 95% CI = 6.05-14.60) and inconsistent condom use (OR = 11.60; 95% CI = 5.54-24.30). However, unsatisfactory knowledge was not associated with inconsistent condom use. School-based educational programs should focus on sexual behavior more than on transmission of knowledge, as well as targeting low-income students.

Perception of voluntary screening for paediatric HIV and response to post-test counselling by Nigerian parents

Nigeria may be taken to represent countries with an evolving HIV/AIDS epidemic. With particular reference to paediatric HIV, the voluntary testing of young children and their parents may provide an important entry point for the institution of control measures. However, there is a paucity of knowledge about how individuals perceive voluntary testing. This knowledge is important to the development of guidelines for counselling. To reduce this gap, 258 parents of hospitalized children (> 1 month to 15 years of age) were interviewed using a structured questionnaire. In addition, to complement the data, four examples of seropositive mother's responses during post-test counselling are presented and analyzed. In the survey, 223 (86%) parents were HIV/AIDS aware but only 88 (39%) of these parents could describe one or more route(s) of transmission and none described vertical transmission. Among the respondents, 153 (62%) of 248 would consent to the screening of self, and 195 (85%) of 230 to the screening of a hospitalized child if based on his/her clinical condition. Perceptions of good health and lack of exposure, and despair owing to lack of a specific treatment, were the common reasons for refusing consent. These represent some of the issues which would need to be addressed to increase the acceptance of voluntary testing. The fear of a break up of families with seropositive mothers but seronegative fathers was a major concern expressed during post-test counselling. HIV-discordance among couples may be frequent and should be considered in the formulation of policies on counselling and voluntary testing.