Children's knowledge and beliefs about AIDS: qualitative data from focus group interviews.

Focus groups were used as a qualitative technique to elicit knowledge and attitudes of children in Grades 3 to 6 about acquired immune deficiency syndrome (AIDS). Twenty-seven small groups of children responded to open-ended questions about general AIDS knowledge; transmission, causation, consequences, and prevention of AIDS; emotional response to AIDS; and susceptibility. Results indicate that children have a high level of awareness about AIDS and correct knowledge about the modes of human immunodeficiency virus (HIV) transmission. They understand that AIDS is a serious illness that cannot be cured and know the main ways of preventing HIV infection. Participants had more difficulty explaining causation and greatly overestimated the number of people their age and in high school that might be infected. They also had difficulty applying accurate knowledge to the hypothetical situation of encountering a child with AIDS in school. Misconceptions about AIDS exist at all grade levels, but appear more prevalent in lower grades, whereas increased complexity seems to characterize responses of older children. Recommendations for health educators are made.