Assessment of the knowledge and beliefs of finnish medical students regarding HIV infection and participation in AIDS vaccine trials

Abstract

This study sought to determine the level of general knowledge about HIV infection among Finnish medical students and their willingness to participate in AIDS vaccine trials. One hundred and sixty-two volunteer medical students at the University of Kuopio in the 2nd and 5th years of training filled self-administered questionnaires. The overall response rate among the 2nd year students was 77%, and among the 5th year students 70%. Knowledge was scored on a percentage scale. The mean score on general knowledge about HIV among 2nd year students was 75.6 (SD = 0.23) while in the 5th year it was 87.8 (SD 0.18). Fifty-four students (77%) from the 5th year and 66 (72%) from the 2nd year indicated their willingness to participate (WTP) in AIDS vaccine trials (p = 0.09). Medical curricula should be constantly revised to keep medical students up-to-date about recent advances in HIV/AIDS research. © 2006, Baywood Publishing Co., Inc.