A Study of Knowledge Attitude and Practice Regarding HIV/AIDS among Adolescents
Journal Title: Indian Journal of Youth and Adolescent Health - Year 2017, Vol 4, Issue 2
Abstract
Introduction: In this world of 7.2 billion people, 1.2 billion live in India and out of these, 243 million, i.e., 20.9% of the population are adolescents, between 10 and 19 years, as per 2011. This makes India the world’s largest adolescent-living country. As per WHO, HIV is the second leading cause of death among adolescents. In Dist. Bathinda, 99,595 people were tested out of which 1339, i.e., 1.34% were found to be positive till February 2014. Hence school education has been described as a ‘social vaccine,’ and it can serve as a powerful preventive tool. In India, there is a wide gap between the inputs in the HIV/AIDS curriculum for schools and the actual education that is imparted. Materials and Methods: A cross-sectional study was conducted among adolescents (14 to 19 years) in three randomly chosen co-educational schools in Bathinda. Adolescents from 14 to 19 years in randomly chosen schools were included in the study. A pre-designed, pre-structured, pre-tested questionnaire was introduced to the participants by the interviewer in English and Hindi. Privacy of the schools and the participants was maintained by not mentioning their names anywhere in the study. Data was collected regarding knowledge, attitude and prevalence regarding HIV/AIDS. Results: A total of 401 adolescents were enrolled in our study out of which 282 were males and 119 females. Almost all the adolescents, i.e., 99.8% had heard about the term HIV/AIDS. 74.8% had TV and 61.6% internet as their source of information. A large number, i.e., 85.3% adolescents (87.6% male adolescents and 79.8% female adolescents) knew that sexual contact could be the mode of transmission of HIV/AIDS. A large number, i.e., 71.82% (80.14% males and 52.1% females) knew that HIV/AIDS could be prevented by using condoms. 52 adolescents had history of previous sexual exposure out of whom 48 used condoms during the last sexual contact. The association was significant between the knowledge and practice regarding the use of condom (highly significant: p<0.01). Conclusion: Thus this study reveals that still much has to be done towards imparting information about HIV/AIDS among adolescents, which could be done through many ways, like involving them in various activities at health centers as and when any IEC activities are carried out. Moreover schools and parents should also involve themselves and impart them more information regarding the disease. Mothers play an important role in providing more information to girl adolescents. Thus a collective effort is needed so as to have a bright future of these adolescents.
Authors and Affiliations
Dr Dhruvendra Lal Lal
Keywords
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- EP ID EP215983
- DOI 10.24321/2349.2880.201716
- Views 113
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