TITLE:
Knowledge Level about HIV/AIDS among the Villagers of Comilla District, Bangladesh
AUTHORS:
Md. Shafiur Rahman, Md. Nuruzzaman Khan, Md. Nazrul Islam Mondal, Md. Shamsher Alam, Kazi Mohiuddin Ahmed, Md. Rafiqul Islam
KEYWORDS:
AIDS, Villagers, Sexually Transmitted Diseases, Cronbach’s Alpha, Bangladesh
JOURNAL NAME:
World Journal of AIDS,
Vol.4 No.4,
December
29,
2014
ABSTRACT: The HIV/AIDS epidemic has grown on an
unprecedented scale since it was first recognized, and presently it is
considered as a well known global public health crisis. In making the health
policy where millions of populations are at risk, it is necessary to understand
the knowledge level about HIV/AIDS. So, this study aimed at to investigate the
knowledge level about HIV/AIDS among the villagers. Data and necessary
information were collected from one hundred villagers of Salmanpur from Comilla
district, Bangladesh through a structured questionnaire. The collected data
were used for univariate analysis, to carry out the description of the
variables; and to justify the total score of knowledge about HIV/AIDS among the
respondents, Cronbach’s alpha (α) was calculated. The results revealed that
almost all the respondents (92.00%) were ever heard about HIV/AIDS and half of
them (51.00%) were known it as a communicable disease. Majority of the
respondents (62.00%) believed that it is caused by heterosexual relation as
well as sex with HIV positive persons. However, a good number of respondents
were found unaware about the major causes and preventive ways of AIDS. Less
than half of the respondents (45.00%) had medium knowledge (α = 0.34 - 0.66)
and only 36.00% had the enough knowledge about HIV/AIDS. The knowledge level is
increasing with the increase of education level, and the respondents who
involved in agricultural works are found the lowest knowledge level (47.00%)
about HIV/AIDS. The villagers were known about HIV/AIDS but they do not have
accurate information about the ways in which AIDS virus can or cannot be
transmitted. Therefore, effective programs should be taken to increase the knowledge
level about HIV/AIDS among the villagers in Bangladesh.