[Students' knowledge about AIDS and their attitudes and behaviours towards HIV-positive or diseased persons in Niš, Serbia].

OBJECTIVE

to assess the level of knowledge about HIV infection among students of the city of Niš, Serbia, through the evaluation of what was their attitude towards social contacts with HIV-positive/diseased subjects, their opinion about the treatment of HIV-positive/diseased subjects, and the sanctions for their inadequate behavior.

DESIGN

the study was performed in December 2010 as cross-sectional epidemiological survey on a sample of 260 families chosen randomly from telephone book of the City of Niš, Serbia.

SETTING AND PARTICIPANTS

the study population was composed from 143 university students and 64 high-school students. A questionnaire made up of 53 questions about HIV infection and about attitudes towards HIV-positive/diseased subjects was administered to the participants.

RESULTS

right answers about the sources of HIV infection ranged from 53.1% to 100%; right answers about mode of transmission of HIV infection ranged from 46.4% to 100%. 79.2% students expressed the opinion that HIV positive/ diseased persons should be treated by the society in the same way as other patients, but only 3.7% of them expressed the wish to have social relations with them. Only 28% of the students agreed that HIV infected subjects should be cured in the same medical institutions with other patients. Concerning the responses about possible sanctions towards HIV-positive/diseased subjects who spread the infection deliberately, 28% of the students agreed that they should undergo administrative or penal sanctions.

CONCLUSIONS

student's level of knowledge (both from high schools and universities) about HIV is generally satisfactory, with some exceptions that may be corrected with a better sanitary education. Theoretical attitude of students towards HIV positive/diseased subjects is generally positive, but these results are in clear contrast with answers about relations with these persons in everyday life.