Original scientific paper
Turkish school teachers’ knowledge and attitudes toward HIV/AIDS
Naim Nur
orcid.org/0000-0002-7675-9342
; Department of Public Health, Faculty of Medicine, Cumhuriyet University, Sivas, Turkey
Abstract
Aim To assess Turkish school teachers’ knowledge, attitudes,
and misconceptions of HIV/AIDS.
Methods This cross-sectional descriptive study was conducted
in Sivas, Middle Anatolian province of Turkey, from
January to May 2009. We selected and interviewed 898
teachers using a simple systematic sampling method.
Results All respondents heard about AIDS. Most knew
that it could be transmitted by infected blood (98.0%) and
sexual contact (93.4%) and some (33.2%) thought that it
could be transmitted by mosquitoes. Although the majority
of them strongly agreed or agreed with the statement
that “people with AIDS should be helped, supported and
treated” (98.0%), about 40% and 70% of them, respectively,
agreed or strongly agreed with the statement that infected
people should be quarantined. Young teachers with a
higher level of knowledge about HIV/AIDS had more positive
attitudes.
Conclusion This study provided basic information on
school teachers’ AIDS knowledge and attitudes and
showed that various misconceptions of HIV transmission
were a matter of concern. A considerable number of respondents
with undesirable attitudes toward HIV/AIDS indicates
the need for education of teachers on the subject.
Keywords
Hrčak ID:
84163
URI
Publication date:
15.6.2012.
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