title: A survey of knowledge and attitudes about HIV and AIDS among medical students.
abstract: Researchers have found that a significant number of medical students harbor attitudes that have a negative impact on their willingness to care for persons who are HIV positive or have AIDS. To assess current HIV and AIDS knowledge and attitudes, the authors administered a 25-item survey tailored for medical professionals to 63 preclinical medical students. Respondents' mean score on the knowledge scale was 6.25 (SD 1.63) out of a possible score of 10. Factor analysis suggested three major groupings of medical students with regard to attitudes. The largest group had generally positive attitudes about patients with HIV and AIDS; two subgroups, however, would tend to refer such patients to another physician. One subgroup reported feeling more uncomfortable with homosexual behavior and with HIV-seropositive patients than they did with patients with other infectious diseases. This group also expressed discomfort with physically touching HIV-seropositive clients. The other group expressed discomfort with taking a patient's sexual history. Effective educational interventions must take these findings into account.
authors.affiliation: Emory Clinic, Emory University School of Medicine, Atlanta, Georgia, USA.
authors.forename: J S
authors.initials: JS
authors.lastname: McDaniel
authors.forename: L M
authors.initials: LM
authors.lastname: Carlson
authors.forename: N J
authors.initials: NJ
authors.lastname: Thompson
authors.forename: D W
authors.initials: DW
authors.lastname: Purcell
mesh_terms: D000163:Acquired Immunodeficiency Syndrome / Q000523:psychology; D005163:Factor Analysis, Statistical; D005260:Female; D015658:HIV Infections / Q000523:psychology*; D007722:Health Knowledge, Attitudes, Practice; D006801:Humans; D008297:Male; D012044:Regression Analysis; D015144:Southeastern United States; D013337:Students, Medical