title: Knowledge, attitude and beliefs towards HIV/AIDS among students of health institutes in Sana'a city.
abstract: Students of health-related subjects have an important role in national strategies on HIV/AIDS prevention. This study assessed the knowledge, attitudes and beliefs towards HIV/AIDS among students at health institutes in Sana'a city, Yemen. A descriptive cross-sectional questionnaire survey was conducted on 600 students selected by cluster sampling. Students had a moderate level of HIV/AIDS knowledge (an average of 67.6% were correct on all items). Nevertheless, 82.3% knew that HIV could be transmitted by sexual intercourse without a condom, 87.5% from syringes, 71.8% from infected blood and 80.7% from mother to child. Misconceptions about how HIV is transmitted (e.g. hugging and kissing or sharing food, swimming pools and classrooms) were found among 41.5% of the students. Attitudes towards people living with HIV/AIDS showed that 59.8% of students were accepting and positive. There was a common opinion among respondents that HIV-infected persons needed to be punished (65.5%) and isolated (41.0%); however, 86.8% were willing to care for an HIV-infected person.
authors.affiliation: Department of Community Health Nursing, Faculty of Medicine and Health Science, University of Sana'a and Al-Sabeen Hospital, Sana'a, Yemen. nabilalrabeei@hotmail.com
authors.forename: N A
authors.initials: NA
authors.lastname: Al-Rabeei
authors.forename: A M
authors.initials: AM
authors.lastname: Dallak
authors.forename: F G
authors.initials: FG
authors.lastname: Al-Awadi
mesh_terms: D003430:Cross-Sectional Studies; D005260:Female; D015658:HIV Infections / Q000517:prevention & control* / Q000635:transmission; D007722:Health Knowledge, Attitudes, Practice; D006801:Humans; D008297:Male; D013336:Students, Health Occupations / Q000523:psychology* / Q000706:statistics & numerical data; D011795:Surveys and Questionnaires; D015006:Yemen