Knowledge regarding HIV/AIDS among secondary school students in Khammam town, Andhra Pradesh.

Background: “AIDS” is the acronym of “AcquiredImmune-Deficiency Syndrome” which is a fatal diseasedescribed variously as modern plague, modern scourge,devastating disease, insidious microbiological bomb,biological disaster and so-on. It is a world health problemof extraordinary scale and extreme urgency. AIDSemerged as one of the most important public healthissues of the late twentieth and early twenty- firstcenturies and is now one of the leading causes of globalmorbidity and mortality. Adolescents and youth needinformation in order to make such responsible choices interms of sexual behavior/relationship. They also need tointegrate and personalize this information or knowledgeso that they can make healthy choices. Young peoplelearn a great deal from each other and by sharing ideasand experiences amongst themselves. Peer influence isa great motivating factor in the adoption of specificbehaviour patterns. Therefore, correct information andvalues imparted to one group of young people will bepassed on to the other young people.Study Design: Cross sectional studyStudy period: The study was carried out from June 2011 toDecember 2011.Results: Around 92.60% of participants had heard ofHIV/AIDS, had written correct abbreviation of HIV and AIDS.Nearly 78.90% knew that causative agent of HIV/AIDS asvirus, 76.85% of participants gave correct response forHIV/AIDS awareness symbol as red ribbon. 42.83% ofparticipants knew how to prevent HIV/AIDS. 31.34%participants knew that mosquito bite from HIV/AIDS infectedperson will not transmit HIV virus. 33.39% of participantsknew that intravenous drug abuse will spread HIV virus.75.43% of participants knew that HIV/AIDS status can beconfirmed by blood test. 46.14% of participants who knew thatsharing a meal with HIV/AIDS infected person will not transmitHIV virus.Conclusion: Education is currently the only means ofpreventing the spread of HIV/AIDS. The education which isneeded to protect adolescents from the virus and subsequentdisease involves changes at many levels. Individuals andsystems have to make changes in their thinking, behaviour,attitudes, beliefs and policies.