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HIV/AIDS Related Knowledge, Attitude and Behaviour among College Students of Assam, India


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1 Arya Vidyapeeth College, Guwahati-781 016, Assam, India
     

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As students are a valuable resource for the future of a country, it is imperative that they be equipped with ample amount of information so as to protect themselves from falling a prey this still-an-incurable killer disease. Unfortunately at present, even though the Government agencies are putting serious effort in this regard, lot is still to be achieved. The present study seeks to assess the awareness of college students of Assam about HIV/AIDS and their attitude towards HIV/AIDS. Altogether, 1650 students from 35 different colleges situated in the Brahmaputra valley cutting across 15 different districts of the state were interviewed.

The findings of the present study reveal that although all the respondents heard of the disease about 60% of them are not fully aware of the dreaded disease. Moreover, more than 15% respondents do not know any mode of transmission and 23% do not know any method of prevention of HIV/AIDS. Our findings in the present study reiterate the need for re-enforcing school/college AIDS education. There is a strong need that school/college education must directly address stigmatizing attitudes about HIV/AIDS, gaps in HIV/AIDS knowledge and awareness of HIV-related health resources.


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  • HIV/AIDS Related Knowledge, Attitude and Behaviour among College Students of Assam, India

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Authors

Manab Deka
Arya Vidyapeeth College, Guwahati-781 016, Assam, India

Abstract


As students are a valuable resource for the future of a country, it is imperative that they be equipped with ample amount of information so as to protect themselves from falling a prey this still-an-incurable killer disease. Unfortunately at present, even though the Government agencies are putting serious effort in this regard, lot is still to be achieved. The present study seeks to assess the awareness of college students of Assam about HIV/AIDS and their attitude towards HIV/AIDS. Altogether, 1650 students from 35 different colleges situated in the Brahmaputra valley cutting across 15 different districts of the state were interviewed.

The findings of the present study reveal that although all the respondents heard of the disease about 60% of them are not fully aware of the dreaded disease. Moreover, more than 15% respondents do not know any mode of transmission and 23% do not know any method of prevention of HIV/AIDS. Our findings in the present study reiterate the need for re-enforcing school/college AIDS education. There is a strong need that school/college education must directly address stigmatizing attitudes about HIV/AIDS, gaps in HIV/AIDS knowledge and awareness of HIV-related health resources.


References