[Secondary students' knowledge about HIV-AIDS (Cartagena, Colombia)].
OBJECTIVE
Determining the level of HIV/AIDS knowledge amongst high-students living in Cartagena, Colombia.


METHODS
A cross-sectional study was designed using a sample of secondary school students who completed a six-question questionnaire about their knowledge of HIV/AIDS and the myths related to it. Logistic regression was used for adjusting associations.


RESULTS
A total of 2,625 10- to 20-year-old students participated in the research. A group of 249 (9.5 OR; 8.4-10.6 95 %CI) answered the questionnaire properly. Being a high-school student (2.62 OR; 4.82-13.29 95 %CI) and studying in a private school (1.32 OR, 1.24 to 3.54 95 %CI), adjusted for age, were associated with having good HIV/AIDS knowledge.


CONCLUSIONS
Students from secondary schools in Cartagena were seen to have limited knowledge of HIV/AIDS. A higher level of knowledge was observed amongst high school and private school students. More research is needed to strengthen sexual and reproductive health education.
Grupo cuidado a la salud de los colectivos, Facultad de Enfermería, Universidad de Cartagena, Colombia. egomezb@unicartagena.edu.co
Edna
E
Gómez-Bustamante
Zuleima
Z
Cogollo-Milanés
D000293:Adolescent; D000294:Adolescent Behavior; D000367:Age Factors; D001294:Attitude to Health; D002648:Child; D003105:Colombia; D003430:Cross-Sectional Studies; D005260:Female; D015658:HIV Infections / Q000523:psychology*; D007722:Health Knowledge, Attitudes, Practice; D006801:Humans; D008297:Male; D000297:Psychology, Adolescent; D002666:Psychology, Child; D012574:Schools / Q000145:classification; D012736:Sex Education; D012725:Sexual Behavior; D013334:Students / Q000523:psychology*; D011795:Surveys and Questionnaires; D014829:Vocational Education