The Effects of an AIDS Education Program on the Knowledge and Attitudes of Physical Therapy Students

Abstract

AIDS (acquired Immunodeficiency syndrome) is a fast spreading pandemic with global affection and has affected lives of multitudes in recent years. The purpose of this paper was to determine the effect of an AIDS education program on physical therapy students’ knowledge about AIDS, attitudes towards people with AIDS and willingness to treat AIDS patients. A sample of 50 physical therapy students’ aged 22 to 28 volunteered to participate in this study. All subjects were pretested and posttested together with an AIDS study questionnaire. The subject group demonstrated an improvement in knowledge about AIDS (56%) and positive attitudes towards AIDS patients (16%), although the students’ willingness to provide services for AIDS patients remained unchanged following the AIDS education program. Further study of other levels of physical therapists or physical therapy students, measurement of actual clinical behaviours and comparisons of different educational interventions are needed.