Swed Sarya, Alibrahim Hidar, Albakri Khaled, Rais Mohammed Amir, Al-Rassas Safwan, Hafez Wael, Sawaf Bisher, Almoshantaf Mohammad Badr, Elsayed Mohamed, Albazee Ebraheem, Cheema Huzaifa Ahmad, Hraiz Wehba, Taieb Fatima, Ameen Venus Hussain, Rakab Amine, Emran Talha Bin, AbdElrahim Elrashed, Osman Hamid, Khan Pathan Refat, Khandaker Mayeen Uddin
Faculty of medicine Aleppo University, Aleppo, Syria.
Faculty of medicine, The Hashemite University, Zarqa, Jordan.
HIV Res Clin Pract. 2024 Dec;25(1):2356409. doi: 10.1080/25787489.2024.2356409. Epub 2024 Jul 13.
Human immunodeficiency virus (HIV) and sexually transmitted infections (STIs) can cause severe and fatal complications; knowledge about these diseases is essential for promoting safe sex practices and modifying behaviours that are harmful to one's health. This study investigates Syrian people's understanding, attitudes, and behaviors towards HIV/AIDS and STIs, aiming to identify factors promoting safe sex practices and modifying harmful behaviors.
This online cross-sectional study was conducted in Syria between 3 September and 23 November 2022, involving all 18+ individuals. The questionnaire was adapted from a previous study containing 74 questions from five sections: socio-demographic information, knowledge and practice regarding STIs, knowledge and practice regarding HIV/AIDS, attitude towards HIV/AIDS, and attitude regarding STIs and analyzed using descriptive and multivariate logistic regression.
The study involved 1073 participants mostly aged between 18-30, with 55.3% females. Over half had good awareness of STIs and HIV/AIDS, with 55% and 63% respectively. Specifically, the overall knowledge level of STI type, signs/symptoms, risks of transmission, preventive methods, and complications for untreated STIs were (45.7%), (52.9%), (58.1%), (66.1%), and (59.6%), respectively. Medical field respondents had higher knowledge of HIV (P-value < 0.05, OR = 2).
Our results show that Syrian people have a knowledge level of STIs and HIV was moderate. However, the attitude toward STIs was negative, as less than half of the participants had a good attitude. It is essential to solve these knowledge gaps, especially in low-income countries such as Syria.
人类免疫缺陷病毒（HIV）和性传播感染（STIs）可导致严重和致命的并发症；了解这些疾病对于促进安全性行为和改变有害健康的行为至关重要。本研究调查叙利亚人对艾滋病毒/艾滋病和性传播感染的理解、态度和行为，旨在确定促进安全性行为和改变有害行为的因素。
这项在线横断面研究于2022年9月3日至11月23日在叙利亚进行，涉及所有18岁及以上的个体。问卷改编自之前的一项研究，包含来自五个部分的74个问题：社会人口信息、关于性传播感染的知识和实践、关于艾滋病毒/艾滋病的知识和实践、对艾滋病毒/艾滋病的态度以及对性传播感染的态度，并使用描述性和多变量逻辑回归进行分析。
该研究涉及1073名参与者，大多数年龄在18 - 30岁之间，女性占55.3%。超过一半的人对性传播感染和艾滋病毒/艾滋病有良好的认识，分别为55%和63%。具体而言，性传播感染类型、体征/症状、传播风险、预防方法以及未经治疗的性传播感染并发症的总体知识水平分别为（45.7%）、（52.9%）、（58.1%）、（66.1%）和（59.6%）。医学领域的受访者对艾滋病毒的了解程度更高（P值<0.05，OR = 2）。
我们的结果表明，叙利亚人对性传播感染和艾滋病毒的知识水平中等。然而，对性传播感染的态度是消极的，因为不到一半的参与者态度良好。解决这些知识差距至关重要，特别是在叙利亚这样的低收入国家。
