Perceived Barriers to HIV Prevention among University Students in Sierra Leone, West Africa

Abstract

This article presents the results of a small pilot study of students at Fourah Bay College in Freetown, the capital of Sierra Leone, West Africa, to provide baseline data to the National AIDS Programme in planning educational interventions aimed at preventing the spread of HIV. Results of the survey indicate that barriers to HIV prevention in Sierra Leone include persistence of belief in the idea that AIDS is not real but is a conspiracy to prevent Africans from having sex or having children, an ambivalence among women students regarding sexuality issues, a lack of familiarity with the parameters of the epidemic in Africa, and a belief that condom use behavior is not amenable to change. Implications of these findings are discussed. Further research is needed to include the portion of the population that is not literate.