scholarly journals HIV/AIDS knowledge and attitudes among social work students: A comparative study

2021 ◽  
pp. 002087282110046
Author(s):  
Oscar Labra ◽  
Augustin Ependa ◽  
Isis Chamblas ◽  
Gabriel Gingras-Lacroix ◽  
André Antoniadis ◽  
...  

The article describes a quantitative cross-sectional study of a sample of 674 university students enrolled in social work programmes in four countries: Belgium, Canada, Chile and Switzerland. The study aimed to assess HIV/AIDS knowledge and attitudes among participants. The median HIV-KQ-18 score for the sample was 14.0, which Carey and Schroder classify as indicating borderline low levels of knowledge. Based on the results, the authors argue that social work education and training programmes should more comprehensively address HIV/AIDS within their curricula to better equip future social workers to challenge stigmatising and exclusionary practices rooted in long-standing lack of knowledge and erroneous beliefs about the disease.

2019 ◽  
Vol 50 (7) ◽  
pp. 2002-2021 ◽  
Author(s):  
Y Kotera ◽  
P Green ◽  
D Sheffield

Abstract Despite high shame about mental health symptoms among UK social work students, positive psychological approaches to their mental health have not been investigated in depth. Emotional resilience has been a core skill in social work practice; however, its relationship with mental health is still unclear. Therefore, the primary purposes of this cross-sectional study were to (i) examine the relationships between mental health and positive psychological constructs, namely resilience, self-compassion, motivation and engagement and (ii) determine predictors of mental health in UK social work students. An opportunity sampling of 116 UK social work students (102 females, 14 males; 96 undergraduates, 20 postgraduates) completed 5 measures about these constructs. Correlation and regression analyses were conducted. Mental health was associated with resilience, self-compassion and engagement. Self-compassion was a negative predictor, and intrinsic motivation was a positive predictor of mental health symptoms. Resilience did not predict mental health symptoms. The findings highlight the importance of self-compassion to the challenging mental health of UK social work students; they caution against the overuse and misunderstanding of resilience in the social work field.


2013 ◽  
Vol 2013 ◽  
pp. 1-7 ◽  
Author(s):  
Qinghai Hu ◽  
Junjie Xu ◽  
Zhenxing Chu ◽  
Jing Zhang ◽  
Ke Yun ◽  
...  

A high prevalence of HIV infection is present among men who have sex with men (MSM) in China, but many people living with HIV or AIDS (PLWHs) are unaware of their HIV infection status. Provider-initiated HIV testing and counseling (PITC) is a streamlined model that can significantly enhance HIV detection and detect infections earlier. However, PITC has not yet been widely applied, and no studies have been conducted on MSM’s attitudes towards PITC in China. In this study, a total of 438 MSM were recruited in Shenyang city. A multivariate logistic regression model showed that certain conditions made MSM more accepting of PITC: those who had attended VCT (voluntary counseling and testing) more than three times (odds ratio [OR]: 2.95, 95% CI: 1.36–6.37), those who considered PITC beneficial for family and friends (OR: 1.91, 95% CI: 1.25–2.92), those who obtained HIV/AIDS knowledge from brochures (OR: 2.52, 95% CI: 1.64–3.87), those who obtained HIV/AIDS knowledge from the Internet (OR: 1.66, 95% CI: 1.07–2.58), and those who were highly aware of their own risk of being infected with HIV (OR: 2.84, 95% CI: 1.37–5.91). To improve acceptance of PITC among MSM in China, stronger efforts are needed to lower the psychosocial barriers to receiving PITC, to promote HIV/AIDS awareness, and to encourage the extension of HIV testing.


2015 ◽  
Vol 1 (2) ◽  
pp. 18-28
Author(s):  
Baitesda Suba

Introduction. Improving nurses and nursing student’s knowledge and attitudes toward patients with HIV/AIDS is vital for providing quality care to each patients. The purpose of this study is to identify the knowledge and the attitudes of nursing students toward patients living with HIV/AIDS. Methods. This descriptive cross-sectional study was conducted at Faculty of Nursing, Universitas Klabat (Unklab), Airmadidi. The inclusion criteria for the nursing students were as follows: being at least 18 years of age; being a fourth-year in course and as a nurse profession program nursing student; and having consent to participate in the research. The sample comprised of 90 nursing students. The study used two data collection tools: (1) the HIV/AIDS Knowledge Questionnaire and (2) the HIV/AIDS Attitude Questionnaire. Results. Participant’s knowledge were moderate or good, but they generally have negative attitude towards patients with HIV/AIDS. On the result of statistic test, there was no statistically significant relation between nursing students  knowledge level and attitude scale toward patients with HIV/AIDS,    p = 0.804 (p > 0,05). Conclusions. The current results reveal that nursing students have good knowledge of HIV/AIDS, but they have a negative attitude. Therefore their attitudes need to be improved.Keyword: HIV/AIDS, knowledge, attitudes, nursing student Full printable version: PDF


2014 ◽  
Vol 48 (2) ◽  
pp. 206-215 ◽  
Author(s):  
Raquel Regina de Freitas Magalhães Gomes ◽  
José Rodrigues Batista ◽  
Maria das Graças Braga Ceccato ◽  
Lígia Regina Franco Sansigolo Kerr ◽  
Mark Drew Crosland Guimarães

OBJECTIVE To evaluate the level of HIV/AIDS knowledge among men who have sex with men in Brazil using the latent trait model estimated by Item Response Theory. METHODS Multicenter, cross-sectional study, carried out in ten Brazilian cities between 2008 and 2009. Adult men who have sex with men were recruited (n = 3,746) through Respondent Driven Sampling. HIV/AIDS knowledge was ascertained through ten statements by face-to-face interview and latent scores were obtained through two-parameter logistic modeling (difficulty and discrimination) using Item Response Theory. Differential item functioning was used to examine each item characteristic curve by age and schooling. RESULTS Overall, the HIV/AIDS knowledge scores using Item Response Theory did not exceed 6.0 (scale 0-10), with mean and median values of 5.0 (SD = 0.9) and 5.3, respectively, with 40.7% of the sample with knowledge levels below the average. Some beliefs still exist in this population regarding the transmission of the virus by insect bites, by using public restrooms, and by sharing utensils during meals. With regard to the difficulty and discrimination parameters, eight items were located below the mean of the scale and were considered very easy, and four items presented very low discrimination parameter (< 0.34). The absence of difficult items contributed to the inaccuracy of the measurement of knowledge among those with median level and above. CONCLUSIONS Item Response Theory analysis, which focuses on the individual properties of each item, allows measures to be obtained that do not vary or depend on the questionnaire, which provides better ascertainment and accuracy of knowledge scores. Valid and reliable scales are essential for monitoring HIV/AIDS knowledge among the men who have sex with men population over time and in different geographic regions, and this psychometric model brings this advantage.


Author(s):  
A. F. Chizoba ◽  
H. N. Chineke ◽  
P. O. U. Adogu

Adolescents and youths are at high risk due to knowledge gap and behavior risks related to HIV. Despite the well-known need for protection from HIV infections and other reproductive health risks, being an adolescent coupled with social and economic status could limit access to information and services. This is a study to ascertain the HIV/AIDS Knowledge and behaviour-risk among in-school adolescents and youths in Ebonyi State, Nigeria. It is a descriptive cross-sectional study involving1831 in-school adolescents selected by multi-stage sampling technique. Females showed higher knowledge at 52.2±20.1 than males at 47.5±20.3 (p<0.001). Also the urban youths had higher knowledge (47.1±20.8) than rural schools (41.3±20.3). Conversely, males displayed higher behaviour risk at 44.8±24.5 than the female at 39.9±24.6 (p<0.001). Highest behaviour risk was observed in age group 16-20 years (51.2±25.8). Schools in urban setting had higher behaviour risk (56.1±25.5) than rural schools (41.3±23.7), while knowledge of HIV transmission was highest as 63.8% of the respondent scored ≥50 in 5 HIV questions on knowledge of transmission. Also 48% (370) of the 778 participants who ever had sex had used condom while 50% (915/1831) of the study population were willing to abstain from sex till marriage. There is a strong need for appropriate regular and intensified HIV/AIDS risk reduction interventions to capture the attention of youths especially males, and to ensure sustainable and effective outcomes in secondary schools of Ebonyi state Nigeria.


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