Assessment of knowledge, attitude and perceptions of HIV/AIDS among secondary school students in Guntur district of south India: a cross-sectional survey

Abstract

Background: In recent years, there established a diverse information and accelerated surge towards HIV/AIDS. However, awareness of HIV/AIDS among children are ill-defined. As we all are familiar with the known fact that, our greatest natural resource is the minds of the young children who has the potentiality for forming a better nation. It is our greatest responsibility to ignite their young minds in order to eradicate the pandemic diseases such as HIV/AIDS. The objective of the study was to assess the knowledge, attitude and perceptions regarding HIV-AIDS among secondary school students. Methods: A cross-sectional survey was conducted using the simple random sampling technique. A total of 96 students aged between 13-17 years were sampled from a secondary school in Guntur district and interviewed through a validated self-administered questionnaire in order to assess the knowledge, attitude and perceptions (KAP) regarding HIV/AIDS. The study cohort includes students from VIII, IX, and X standards. Verbal consent from students was obtained before initiating the study. Responses were scored, analyzed and mean score and percentage were used to determine the level of KAP. Results: The study results demonstrated that students of class X had a predominant overall knowledge than of class IX and VIII. While males had a good knowledge about HIV/AIDS. Whereas, females had a lot of misconceptions when compared on overall basis. Conclusions: This particular survey results strengthen the truth that still there exists a lack of awareness and knowledge among children regarding HIV/AIDS in developing countries like India.