title: Meeting a person with AIDS in the classroom: an evaluation.
abstract: Meeting a person with AIDS in the classroom was evaluated to determine if it had an impact on students' perceived susceptibility to HIV infection and attitudes toward persons with AIDS. The meeting was incorporated into the Grade 9 AIDS education program of a school district in Nova Scotia. Four schools participated in this study. Two schools were randomly assigned to the treatment group, which met the person with AIDS, and the remaining two schools formed the comparison group. Measures of the two attitudinal variables were collected using a self-report questionnaire that was administered both prior to and two weeks after the educational intervention. Meeting a person with AIDS in the classroom had no measurable impact on students perceived susceptibility to HIV infection nor on their attitudes toward persons with AIDS. Suggestions for using the educational intervention more effectively and for further research are made.
authors.affiliation: Health Education Division, Dalhousie University.
authors.forename: S A
authors.initials: SA
authors.lastname: Stewart
authors.forename: R P
authors.initials: RP
authors.lastname: Beazley
mesh_terms: D000163:Acquired Immunodeficiency Syndrome / Q000523:psychology*; D000293:Adolescent; D001294:Attitude to Health; D005260:Female; D006801:Humans; D007398:Interpersonal Relations; D008297:Male; D009674:Nova Scotia; D015397:Program Evaluation; D011897:Random Allocation; D012572:School Health Services / Q000458:organization & administration*; D013334:Students / Q000523:psychology*