HIV/AIDS Knowledge and attitudes of Southern Iranian students

Abstract

This study aimed to explore Iranian primary school students’ attitudes and knowledge about HIV/AIDS. The knowledge and attitudes of 597 primary school students from all areas of Ahwaz were assessed by anonymous questionnaires in November 2007. None of the students answered all the knowledge questions correctly, and results indicated that there were many misconceptions about the routes of transmission. Sneezing and coughing, contaminated food, water or hands were incorrectly identified as routes of transmission. The knowledge increased with age (P<0.001). The sources of pupils’ information primarily included: Television (66.8%), family members (20.2%), friends (10.6%) and school teachers (2.4%). Also some pupils believed that there was some treatment (38.3%) or an effective vaccine (63.4%) for HIV/AIDS. The result of this study revealed that most primary school students in Ahwaz had a lack of proper knowledge about HIV/AIDS. There is a need to promote an AIDS education in Ahvaz and also all Iranian schools, to improve socio-cultural factors in next years.