Knowledge and Attitude of Students regarding HIV/AIDS in Peshawar University

Objectives: To determine the knowledge and attitude of medical and non-medical students of Peshawar University regarding HIV/AIDS. Methods: This cross sectional observational study was conducted on students of Khyber Medical College and Peshawar University Departments of English, Urdu, Statistics, Mathematics, Economics, Chemistry and Botany students from January 2005 to October 2005. Students were divided into four groups. They were asked to fulfill a predesigned questionnaire. The variables assessed were their knowledge of disease (etiology, mode of transmission, and prevention) and attitude towards AIDS patients. Results: A total of 500 students participated, with 150 (30%) pre-clinical students, 100 (20%) clinical students and 125 (25%) each science and art students. The male female ratio was 2:1; mean age of respondents was 22 +/- 1.5 years. Seventy nine percent students knew the causative agent of the disease and 94.6% agreed that it is a communicable disease. Only 29% of students were willing to share daily use items with these patients with fear that they might get disease. Male students agreed on utilization of sterilized blades for shave (97.2%), and disposable syringe for IV medications (92%). They prefer blood transfusion screened for HIV (93.6%). Conclusion: There is a satisfactory awareness among the medical students entering into the profession. An acceptable difference was recorded among clinical, preclinical and non-clinical students regarding their knowledge and attitude about HIV and AIDS.