Abstract
The contribution of India to the global burden of HIV/AIDS is significant. A major barrier that the country has faced in its battle against this disease is the inadequate and inaccurate information about it among the population. The present analysis explores the knowledge about HIV/AIDS among clients attending a voluntary counselling and testing (VCT) facility in India. Two hundred clients attending the VCT facility were assessed in this regard using a structured predesigned questionnaire. Sixty-three (31.5%) of the respondents had never heard of HIV/AIDS. In comparison to males, a significantly higher number of females had not heard about the disease (P < 0.01). Lower levels of education of participants were found to be significantly associated with the response of not having heard of HIV/AIDS (P < 0.01) as was an occupation status of being an unemployed man/housewife (P = 0.002). For the 137 (68.5%) respondents who had heard about HIV/AIDS, television was the source of information in 130 (94.9%) followed by posters in 93 (67.9%) and newspapers in 88 (64.2%). While the knowledge about HIV transmission and prevention was good, the extent of misconceptions was high (61.8%). Our study highlights the strong need to raise the levels of HIV awareness among Indian population.
Highlights
Human immunodeficiency virus (HIV)/acquired immunodeficiency syndrome (AIDS) is a major and one of the most serious public health challenges in today’s world
In addition several other factors contribute to this vulnerability including low levels of education, poverty, early age of sexual debut, limited access to health services especially in rural settings, inadequate information about modes of HIV transmission, and misconceptions and myths revolving around HIV/AIDS [4]
Similar findings were observed in a community based cross-sectional study conducted among rural youth of Saurashtra where nearly two-thirds of the respondents had ever heard about this infection [6]
Summary
Human immunodeficiency virus (HIV)/acquired immunodeficiency syndrome (AIDS) is a major and one of the most serious public health challenges in today’s world. An estimated 35.3 million people across the world are infected with HIV [1]. The contribution of India to the global burden of HIV/AIDS is significant with nearly 2.39 million people currently affected with the disease in the country [3]. Though the HIV prevalence in India is low, the large population base of the country explains this enormous absolute number of HIV infected. The large population base makes the country more vulnerable to HIV. In addition several other factors contribute to this vulnerability including low levels of education, poverty, early age of sexual debut, limited access to health services especially in rural settings, inadequate information about modes of HIV transmission, and misconceptions and myths revolving around HIV/AIDS [4]
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