'All red in the face': students' views on school-based HIV/AIDS and sexuality education

School-based HIV/AIDS and sexuality education is a fraught area, the site of struggles around moral values, knowledge, the nature of childhood and adolescence and pedagogy. The dominant discourses on HIV/AIDS and sexuality education in Australian secondary schools, as evident in policy documents, are currently predominantly libertarian and therapeutic, championing the need for 'openness' in the interests of the students' emotional maturity and social responsibility and their good health. However, Policy does not always translate readily into practice. This article draws upon a study involving focus group discussions with Australian senior high school students concerning their responses to the school-based HIV/AIDS and sexuality education programmes in which they have taken part and other sources of knowledge about HIV/AIDS. The article focuses in detail upon the students' valorizing of openness, trust and expertise in the face of the embarrassment, their perception of surveillance and their fears of lack of confidentiality that characterize their experience of HIV/AIDS and sexuality education. It is concluded that the nature of the teacher-adolescent relationship tends to work against the achievement of the objectives of such education.     

A systematic review of education for the prevention of HIV/AIDS among older adults

Through a comprehensive literature search, the authors of this systematic review identified 21 articles focused on primary prevention of HIV/AIDS for adults aged 50 and over. Three major challenges to providing HIV/AIDS education for older adults include health professionals' ageism, older adults' reluctance to discuss sexuality, and their misconception of their HIV risk. Clinical guidelines for social workers, nurses, and physicians identified the importance of sharing information and assessing risk, considering cultural diversity, and devising creative delivery strategies. Three models of HIV/AIDS education include group education programs delivered by social workers or other health professionals, peer education models, and one-on-one early intervention models including HIV/AIDS testing. Additional outreach and research on HIV/AIDS prevention among older adults is needed.     

AIDS and college health: knowledge, threat, and prevention at a northeastern university

We performed secondary analyses on data originally collected by telephone from a random sample of 294 undergraduates from a large northeastern university to examine students' knowledge about acquired immunodeficiency syndrome (AIDS) and the students' reactions to the health threat posed by human immunodeficiency virus (HIV). Our findings indicated that students are reasonably well informed about AIDS, are aware of the recommended precautions for avoiding HIV infection, and are fearful that the virus may spread within the student population. These data also show that students are reluctant to change their sexual behavior unless the threat of infection is personalized. The implications of our findings for future research are briefly discussed.     

College Students and HIV/AIDS: A Comparison of Nontraditional and Traditional Student Perspectives

Objective and Participants The authors compared nontraditional college students' knowledge and perceptions of HIV/AIDS and sexual practices with previously reported results about traditional students. Methods Nontraditional students completed an online survey with questions based on national HIV/AIDS surveys. Traditional students completed the same survey with paper and pencil. Results Overall, the authors found more similarities than differences between the 2 groups. The findings support previous research that suggests that although college students are knowledgeable about HIV and its risks, they express little personal concern about becoming infected. The authors also discuss how apparent differences between nontraditional and traditional students regarding personal concern about becoming infected, relationship status, and information sources may influence the development of effective prevention strategies geared toward nontraditional college students. Conclusions Institutional leaders need to adapt to these differences, and researchers should undertake additional studies to clarify these differences so that college students may be more effectively educated about HIV/AIDS and encouraged to get tested.     

Teaching a Module on HIV and AIDS for Social Work Students—Strategies,Content and Outcome

This paper outlines the author's experience of teaching a module on HIV and AIDS to social work students over several years at Brunel University. She argues that the relevance of the subject matter for social work students has not changed since the module was first introduced 18 years ago. Similar to their previous counterparts, current students still experience a range of emotions, feelings, fears and uncertainties about their competence and skills in responding to the issues presented by individuals infected and affected by HIV and AIDS. The paper describes the aims, curriculum, teaching strategies, assignment and evaluation of the module. Additionally, the paper discusses the learning environment in which the module is taught, and the strategies used to enable students to confront fears, prejudices, improve their knowledge base and gain skills for working with service users infected and affected by HIV and AIDS. In concluding, the paper emphasises the continued implications and observed benefits of this subject for social work students.     

Women and HIV:

Women constitute one of the fastest growing groups of people infected with HIV. Women have always been affected by HIV as informal or formal caregivers. Despite this, HIV services and education have been directed almost exclusively towards men. Given that women comprise half of the workforce, the change in the face of the epidemic requires a reexamination of the EAP professional's approach to AIDS education and services. This article delineates HTV-related issues specific to women and their impact on the functions of the EAP. Suggestions are made for targeting AIDS workplace education and prevention to women. The implications of women's issues on early identification, counseling, and referral by EAP professionals are also explored. Consideration is given to the cultural and socioeconomic diversity of women affected by HIV.     

College students' knowledge and health beliefs about AIDS: implications for education and prevention

A questionnaire designed to measure the application of the dimensions of the Health Belief Model (HBM) to AIDS prevention and to practicing safer sex was administered to 139 undergraduates aged 22 years and under. Students generally had good knowledge about the facts of AIDS, which was consistent with other studies. We found an important difference between students' beliefs about practicing safer sex to prevent AIDS depending on whether their level of knowledge was high or low. The HBM posits that all of its dimensions must be present in order for belief to be followed by action. However, students with low knowledge indicated that the perceived barriers to practicing safer sex were higher than did students with high knowledge about AIDS. These results suggest that special efforts need to be made to teach students with low knowledge more about AIDS and that the barriers to safer sex can and should be overcome. There were no differences between students known to be sexually active compared with those who may or may not have been sexually active. One explanation was a possibly high number of students in the group identified as "perhaps sexually active" who actually were sexually active. Similarly, there were no differences between college students who did or did not know someone with AIDS, but this may have been due to the small number of students who did know such a person. Students' preferences for the format and methodology of AIDS education also were presented. In general, the students preferred small-group discussions and formats such as movies or panel discussions where they could remain "anonymous."(ABSTRACT TRUNCATED AT 250 WORDS)     

Use of open-ended essays and computer content analysis to survey college students' knowledge of AIDS

This study used computer content analysis of written essays to explore university students' knowledge and attitudes about AIDS. Because the essays were long, averaging 650 words each, and were on the very general topics of what individuals and society should do about AIDS, it was possible to study a wide variety of subjects. Computer scoring of the essays showed that education and individual changes in sexual behavior were the two methods of prevention mentioned most often. The majority of students accurately identified the most important methods of transmitting the disease. Only one fourth of the respondents discussed casual contact; a majority of those knew that the disease could not be transmitted in this manner. A minority of the students advocated isolating people infected with HIV or marking these individuals in ways that are accessible to others in society. The new computer methods used to analyze the essays offer flexible and efficient procedures for analyzing text on a variety of topics.     

Testing a New Measure of Sexual Health Knowledge and Its Connections to Students' Sex Education,Communication, Confidence,and Condom Use

ABSTRACT

This study investigates the nature of college students' sexual health knowledge, prior sex education coverage, and sexual communication and confidence. We created a new, comprehensive sexual health knowledge measure to assess 347 undergraduates' knowledge of reproductive health, contraception, condom use, sexually transmitted diseases (STDs), and HIV/AIDS. Overall, students demonstrated a fairly poor understanding of sexual health issues. Women were more knowledgeable than men, specifically on the topics of contraception and STDs. Prior exposure to sex education covering mainstream reproductive health issues or newer contraception methods was correlated with greater knowledge across all domains, particularly for men. Greater knowledge was also correlated with greater sexual assertiveness and confidence with condoms among women.     

Evaluation of HIV/AIDS prevention through peer education, counselling, health care, training and urban refuges in Ghana

Since 1996, Ireland Aid has supported UNICEF Ghana in the implementation of five activities that promote behaviour change to limit the spread of HIV/AIDS and STIs. The interventions are run by different local organisations, and have provided over 75,000 in and out-of-school youth and commercial sex workers with preventive education. People retained the information given, are knowledgeable about how HIV is transmitted, and can name key preventive methods. They pass on the information to their friends. Commercial sex workers were empowered to support one another in negotiating for safer sex. The programme was supported by community members, leading to demand for condoms and for education on HIV/AIDS/STIs. One project gave support to pregnant girls, including health care and vocational training. A drawback in the programme has been the occasional delays in the supply of the educational materials to the peer educators.     

HIV Voluntary Testing among Portuguese Women Attending Family Planning Clinics: Implications for HIV Prevention Education and Testing

ABSTRACT

Objectives: The aim of this article is to analyze the factors associated with HIV testing among 767 sexually active women. Methods: Participants were administered several self-report questionnaires that assessed behavioral and psychosocial measures. Results: Overall, 59.8% of the participants reported ever having tested for HIV. Results show that higher levels of education, being pregnant or having been pregnant, concern about AIDS, AIDS knowledge, self-efficacy in condom negotiation and perception of no risk in partner significantly predicted the likelihood of testing among women. Attending the mass was negatively associated with HIV testing. Conclusions: These findings provide information that can be used in the development of a focused gender sensitive HIV prevention program to increase HIV testing.     

Susceptibility to AIDS: what college students do and don't believe

In-depth, qualitative discussion using the nominal group technique examined freshmen's perceived susceptibility to AIDS and barriers to prevention. Groups were led by dormitory resident advisors as a follow-up to a survey questionnaire of college students' knowledge and beliefs about AIDS. Students' comments showed that many misunderstandings lay behind an apparent understanding of the facts about AIDS. These findings underscore how imperative it is that college health education programs be attuned to the needs and address the deficiencies of the particular student body. In-depth, qualitative research techniques such as the nominal group are described as useful in tailoring AIDS prevention to the specific campus audience and are an appropriate introduction to an AIDS-education session. Suggestions, based on students' comments, are made for improving AIDS-prevention programs on campus.     

Condom sales at public universities in California: implications for campus AIDS prevention

Public health officials have called for increased use of condoms to protect Americans from sexually acquiring human immunodeficiency virus (HIV) infection. To investigate the availability of condoms for sale on college campuses, we asked student union directors and bookstore managers from all 28 public universities in California, with a combined enrollment of half a million students, to complete a detailed questionnaire in August and September 1987. Two thirds of the campuses reported having condoms for sale in either their bookstores or convenience stores; one third said condoms were available in the men's and women's restrooms in their student unions. On most campuses, sales were instituted in the past year in response to the AIDS (acquired immune deficiency syndrome) epidemic. However, very few campuses provided AIDS education at the point of sale, and condoms were not easily available outside of store hours. Respondents felt that the most important obstacles to increasing the distribution of condoms on campus included concern about presenting a negative image of the university and the low priority assigned to this issue by the university administration and others on campus. This study suggests that although condom availability has improved in the past year, the opportunity exists at most California public universities to increase the distribution of condoms and improve associated AIDS-related health education efforts.     

What is the impact of a campus AIDS education course?

To meet a graduation requirement at a state university, 225 students took a 1-semester interdisciplinary course on AIDS. In addition to lectures, readings, and recitation sections, all the students participated in three small-group discussions of their feelings on AIDS-related issues. Students in other courses at the same university served as controls. Anonymous questionnaires were administered before and after the course to assess changes in knowledge, attitudes, and behaviors related to AIDS. When compared with the control group, students in the course had become more knowledgeable about the disease, less fearful of AIDS, and less homophobic. They perceived the AIDS epidemic as more severe than they did before the course, but they were more likely to believe that effective preventive measures were possible. They were also more likely to believe that others in their peer group were taking action to prevent HIV infection. There was no significant increase in either the experimental or the control group in the students' belief that they were personally vulnerable to AIDS, nor was there any statistically significant change in AIDS-related sexual or drug-abuse behaviors.     

Truth or Consequences: Dishonesty in Dating and HIV/AIDS-Related Issues in a College-Age Population

Abstract

This article examines the issue of dishonesty in dating among college students as it relates to the HIV/AIDS epidemic in the United States. The authors surveyed 171 undergraduates at a large midwestern university in January 1991. They conducted an analysis by gender and found significant differences in responses of male and female students. Of those students involved in monogamous relationships, 36% of the men and 21% of the women reported being sexually unfaithful to their current partner or to any of their previous partners. A greater percentage of women than of men inquired about past sexual histories before engaging in sexual activity. In addition, men admitted they had lied to their sexual partner or partners more often than did women. Because a large portion of HIV/AIDS and STD education involves teaching students to inquire about previous sexual histories, the results of this study should influence the direction and content of behaviorally focused educational programs. The authors also address implications for health educators and clinicians.     

Facilities and HIV prevention in bathhouse and sex club environments

This project evaluated the extent to which businesses with a primary purpose of providing opportunities for sexual encounters between men (e.g., bathhouses and sex clubs) have implemented strategies that target their customers with important HIV and STD prevention messages. Between October 1996 and February 1997, we conducted structured telephone interviews with 63 businesses throughout the United States in order to describe their facilities and their HIV education and prevention efforts. Types of facilities offered were related to what businesses called themselves and the kinds of sex space they provided. All of the businesses reported that they provided condoms and lubricant on site; 95% provided educational materials such as posters and flyers about HIV/AIDS; and 40% provided HIV testing on site, with half of these also providing some type of STD testing. Although some level of HIV prevention and educational efforts by these businesses are described, further investigation into their efficacy is required.     

'In the real world we're all put on the spot at some time or other,so you need to be prepared for it': An exploratory study of an oral method of assessing knowledge of mental health law

The education and training of Approved Social Workers (ASWs) involves at least 60 days of college and practice-based learning. A major component of the college-based curriculum is the teaching and assessment of knowledge of mental health law. One programme in England assesses student knowledge of law by an oral examination that includes a case discussion and questions about the Mental Health Act 1983. Oral assessment of knowledge of law is commonplace for those entering legal professions. Oral assessment of clinical knowledge in professions such as medicine and psychiatry is similarly frequent. However, examination by oral assessment is not usual in social work education. An exploratory study by postal questionnaire of all past students of the programme and their line managers was undertaken to establish their views of this means of assessing knowledge of law. This paper considers the results of the research and outlines student perceptions of the law oral assessment as preparation for practice as an ASW. The paper focuses on three distinct but interlinked areas--education, assessment and practice--and suggests some implications for educators and practitioners, which are especially relevant in the light of the current review of mental health legislation.     

Stigma,AIDS, and HIV Prevention in Africa: Reports from Community Organizations Providing Prevention Services

ABSTRACT

The AIDS epidemic in Africa remains a serious health crisis. Nongovernmental organizations (NGOs) in Africa play a critical role in the delivery of HIV prevention services. An important barrier to their HIV prevention efforts is stigma directed at persons living with HIV/AIDS. In order to understand how stigma affects HIV prevention programming, we conducted in-depth qualitative interviews with NGO directors in 29 African countries. Qualitative analytic approaches were used to identify key themes. Substantial discrimination and stigmatization of HIV-positive persons was reported. HIV-positive women were particularly likely to suffer negative social and economic consequences. The stigma associated with HIV interfered with disclosure of HIV status, risk-reduction behaviors, and HIV testing, creating significant barriers to HIV prevention efforts.

Interventions to reduce AIDS-related stigma in Africa are urgently needed. Reducing the burden of stigma is critical to fighting the epidemic in Africa and could play an important role in global HIV reduction.     

Will It Be Silence and Violence or Safety and Prevention for the Next Generation of Gay Youth?

Rates of unprotected anal intercourse and HIV infection are alarmingly high among young gay males. This second wave of infection indicates that traditional models for AIDS education are not working. AIDS educators need to rethink HIV-prevention efforts. Studies consistently find a high level of knowledge about HIV transmission and high levels of commitment to safer sex among gay males, but what accounts for the breakdown between safer sex intentions and practices among them? This article employs social constructionist and queer theoretical assertions that sexuality is socially and culturally produced in complicated and pluralist ways. The analysis examines how risky sexual situations shape young gay males' sexualities by exploring two examples selected to represent, alternatively, models of safer sexual and unsafe sexual trajectories. Implications for HIV prevention practices and policies are discussed.