MYTHS, FACTS, PRECAUTIONS AND TREATMENT BASED ON KNOWLEDGE QUESTIONNAIRE (KQ-18) REGARDING HIV/AIDS

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Scholarly Research Journal for Interdisciplinary Studies, Online ISSN 2278-8808, SJIF 2016 = 6.17, www.srjis.com UGC Approved Sr. No.49366, NOV-DEC 2017, VOL- 4/37 https://doi.org/10.21922/srjis.v4i37.10660

MYTHS, FACTS, PRECAUTIONS AND TREATMENT BASED ON KNOWLEDGE QUESTIONNAIRE (KQ-18) REGARDING HIV/AIDS AMONG MARRIED AND NEVER MARRIED ADULTS (25-35 YEARS) IN MUMBAI & THANE Rege K1, Shah V2, Ingle H, Mallya S3 & Qureshi J4 Department of Human Development, College of Home Science Nirmala Niketan, Affiliated to University of Mumbai, India Email: kaminirege@gmail.com

The lack of proper awareness and knowledge regarding HIV/AIDS may leave a large section of the population vulnerable to contract the disease. Correct knowledge and awareness regarding the disease is a general prerequisite for the prevention and control of HIV/AIDS. Inadequate knowledge, negative attitudes and risky practices are major hindrances to preventing the spread of HIV. The objective was to obtain the knowledge regarding HIV/AIDS on the basis of knowledge questionnaire (KQ-18) among married and never married men and women in Mumbai and Thane district of age 2535 years. The sample consisted of 120 participants (30 married men, 30 married women, 30 never married men, and 30 never married women) ages 25-35 years. The tool was divided into 2 categories a) Proforma [18 introductory questions, such as gender family type] and b) Knowledge questionnaire [standardized tool of knowledge questionnaire (KQ-18) comprising of 18 items]. Results revealed that participants had high knowledge about symptoms i.e., having sex with more than one partner can increase person’s chance of being affected with HIV; treatment i.e., there is a vaccine that can stop adults from getting HIV, precaution i.e., a person can get HIV by sitting in a hot tub or a swimming pool with a person who has HIV. Astonishingly, participants had a very low knowledge about women getting HIV if she has anal sex with a man, taking a test for HIV one week after having sex will tell a person if she or he has HIV and a natural skin condom works better against HIV than does a latex condom in terms of symptoms, treatment and precautions respectively. These research findings led us to believe that there is a need to impart knowledge in relation to HIV/AIDS. Scholarly Research Journal's is licensed Based on a work at www.srjis.com

Introduction Inadequate knowledge, negative attitudes and risky practices are major hindrances to preventing the spread of HIV. This study aimed to assess HIV-related knowledge, attitudes and practices of high school students in Lao People's Democratic Republic (PDR). The majority of students surveyed were aware that HIV can be transmitted by sexual intercourse, from mother to child and through sharing needles or syringes. Misconceptions about transmission of HIV were observed among 59.3% to 74.3% of respondents. Positive attitudes towards HIV/AIDS were observed among 55.7% of respondents. Nearly half of the surveyed Copyright Š 2017, Scholarly Research Journal for Interdisciplinary Studies


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