Knowledges and Attitudes of College Student to Aquired Immune Deficiency Syndrome

Chun, Jin Ho; Lee, Seong Hoon; Sohn, Hae Sook; Lee, Jong Tae

Abstract

OBJECTIVES
Though AIDS is one of the most serious and world-wide health problem, there have been developed no effective control measure but individually oriented prevention. This study was performed to help preparing the efficient control program for college student who are sexually active, considered as a risk group for HIV infection.
METHODS
Subjects were 852 college students of one university in Gyungsangnam-do. From September to October 2001, questionnaire survey on the students' knowledge and attitude, and status of health education about AIDS (HEAIDS) was done. Collected data was analyzed using SAS (ver 6.21) program.
RESULTS
The subjects were freshman (52.1%) and enrollment (47.9%), with department of medicine (19.1%), nursing (25.8%), health administration (9.1%), business (11.4%), chemical (16.2%), food (8.8%), gymnastics (9.5%). Though about 90% of them agreed with the necessity of HEAIDS, half of them (54.7%) had no experience of HEAIDS and most (88.1%) of them considered it had been insufficient. The informations about AIDS was acquired mainly from TV newspaper (73.0%), but partly from specified health education (16.1%). They have no experience of unsafe sexual contact (96.1%), however, they considered that they can have accidental sexual contact (22.7%) in the future. Response for intention to use of preventative condom use was certainly (66.7%) and questionable (33.3%). About the knowledges on HIV infection and transmission, most of them knew relatively well about no curative medicine (94.8%), infected by sexual contact (85.7%), common use of needle (96.4%), transfusion (95.2%), transplantation (89.8%), longitudinal infection (88.7%). However, the correct answer rate was relatively low in clinical spectrum; can maintain normal life with medical care (31.0%), and some transmission route; kiss (46.9%), cough sneezing (45.8%), common use of bowl towl (49.1%) and bath (43.4%), insect like mosquitos (49.1%), razor (35.4%). The mean level of the knowledges on HIV infection and transmission was 67.5 and 71.6 out of a possible 100, respectively. The knowledge level (p=0.003) and certainty to use of preventable condom use (p=0.001) was higher in HEAIDS experienced group. Experiences to HEAIDS was more in enrollment (50.5%) than freshman (40.5%) (p=0.004), medicine (51.4%) than health (32.1%) and general (41.9%) by department group (p=0.001). With regard to the attitudes on HIV infection, they didn't agreed with 'had intention to check themselves for HIV infection (94.2%)', 'case or suspected case can attend to same school with my children (71.8%)', 'had intention to join in clinical trial of new regimen for AIDS (74.4%)'.
CONCLUSIONS
This result showed that present status of HEAIDS for college students is still insufficient. Because the knowledges and attitudes about AIDS are influenced by HEAIDS, professional and efficient education program would be emphasized on the practical level for health protection, eg, preventative condom use. This study has also another meanings to reveal the positive effect and to recall the motive for individual-based prevention