title: Students' knowledge, attitudes, and beliefs about AIDS: a cross-cultural study.
abstract: This exploratory, comparative study was conducted to assess and compare the knowledge, attitudes, and beliefs toward AIDS between a group of Jordanian and a group of American students. A convenience sample consisting of 126 senior BSN (bachelor's of nursing) students, 63 from a university in Jordan and 63 from a university in Michigan, was selected for this study. A self-administered structured questionnaire was utilized. The questionnaire consisted of three parts: knowledge, attitudes, and beliefs toward AIDS in both cultures. Descriptive and inferential statistical analyses were used. The results indicated that the American students' responses concerning knowledge of HIV/AIDS were significantly greater (M = 73%) in comparison with Jordanian students' (M = 52%). The American students also reported more positive attitudes toward AIDS than those of their Jordanian counterparts. In terms of prevention of the spread of HIV/AIDS, more American students (82.5%) approved of the use of condoms as a precautionary measure toward the spread of the disease when compared to Jordanian students.
authors.affiliation: Faculty of Nursing, Hashemite University, Zarqa, Jordan.
authors.forename: Wasileh
authors.initials: W
authors.lastname: Petro-Nustas
authors.forename: Anahid
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Kulwicki
authors.forename: Arwa F
authors.initials: AF
authors.lastname: Zumout
mesh_terms: D000163:Acquired Immunodeficiency Syndrome; D001294:Attitude to Health; D003071:Cognition; D003431:Cross-Cultural Comparison; D003469:Culture; D006801:Humans; D007597:Jordan; D013334:Students; D011795:Surveys and Questionnaires; D014481:United States