In this study person-to-person interviews were conducted with 99 residents of twelve rural villages in the coastal region of Kenya. This was a convenience sample. The survey was conducted in Swahili by a native speaker. The survey was organized into several sections: demographics, sources of information regarding HIV/AIDS, knowledge about HIV/AIDS and its transmission, risk behaviors, and formal education programs that the interviewee might have attended. The study population was on average 31.6 years of age, had 7.1 years of formal education, 51.6% were female, 82.8% were married, and 57.6% were Christian. The most prevalent way that villagers acquired information about HIV/AIDS is from the radio (83.3%), medical personnel (40.4%), and from AIDS newsletters (39.4%). Forty five percent of those responding knew someone who had died from AIDS and 54.6% report worrying about getting HIV/AIDS themselves. From the knowledge portion of the survey, a score was created for each respondent based on the percent of answers that were correct. The average score was 67.7%. Using the score as a dependent variable and regressing it on demographic, sources of information, and perception of HIV/AIDS risk variables (independent variables), a higher knowledge score was significantly associated with reading an AIDS newsletter and knowing someone who had died from AIDS. Overall the model explained 39.2% of the variation in the score and the model was significant at the p < 0.001 level (F-value=5.223).
Learning Objectives: In this session, faculty will discuss results from research findings that include Kenyan villagers' performance on an HIV/AIDS knowledge test and factors that are associated with higher scores
Keywords: HIV/AIDS, HIV Interventions
Presenting author's disclosure statement:
Organization/institution whose products or services will be discussed: None
I do not have any significant financial interest/arrangement or affiliation with any organization/institution whose products or services are being discussed in this session.