Frequent Misconceptions and Low-to-Moderate Knowledge of HIV and AIDS amongst High-School Students in Malaysia

Abstract

We describe the findings from a survey of 572 high-school students aged between 15 and 19 years in the city of Seremban, Negeri Sembilan state, Malaysia. Knowledge regarding HIV and AIDS is assessed using a self-administered validated 48-item questionnaire modified from the validated HIV Knowledge Questionnaire (HIV-K-Q). Our questionnaire was divided into 4 parts assessing different areas in HIV/AIDS, namely, general knowledge of risk factors; knowledge of modes of transmission of HIV; knowledge of HIV prevention; knowledge of HIV testing. The answers were divided into “correct”, “wrong”, and “I don't know”. One mark was awarded for every “correct” answer; one mark was deducted for every “wrong” answer, while no mark was awarded for “I don't know”. The total marks for each student were converted to percentage and used for analysis. The average total score percentage was 64.7%. The highest scores were in the area of knowledge of mode of HIV transmission, while the lowest scores were in the area of knowledge of HIV testing. The level of HIV knowledge was correlated with age of the students (P<0.05) but not with gender and ethnicity. Our paper revealed frequent misconceptions and a general low-to-moderate level of knowledge amongst the high school students surveyed.