Knowledge, Attitude, Practices and Awareness Regarding HIV/AIDS among University Students of Islamabad and Rawalpindi, Pakistan

Objective: To determine the level of knowledge, attitude and awareness of university students towards HIV/AIDS. Study Design: Cross-sectional descriptive study. Place and Duration: The study was carried out in Islamabad and Rawalpindi at the Shaheed Zulfiqar Ali Bhutto Medical University (SZAMBU), Quaid-e-Azam University (QAU), International Islamic University (IIU), PMAS Arid Agriculture University, Fatima Jinnah Women University (FJWU) and Rawalpindi Medical College from November 2015 - February 2016. Material and Methods: A questionnaire based study was performed among 1,031 respondents using random convenient sampling technique. Closed ended questions were used to evaluate knowledge, attitude, practices and awareness (KAPA)of HIV/AIDS. Guidance was given by the researcher to students about how to fill the questionnaire, whenever required so. Collected data were entered into SPSS version 20(IBM SPSS Statistics for Windows, Version 20.0. Armonk, NY: IBM Corp.) and analyzed. Results: Of the 1,031 participants, 637 (61.7%) were females while 394 (38.3%) were males. Average knowledge according to correct knowledge score was 68.4%, which was high among medical students (71.9%). Knowledge among female respondents was higher than males (68.3% versus 61.8%). General awareness was inadequate. Social and electronic media were major sources identified for gaining knowledge. General awareness was found low. Conclusion: Overall knowledge about HIV/AIDS was moderate among the university students with limited knowledge concerning spread of HIV. Misconceptions and social stigmas are still prevalent among students regarding AIDS. Medical students were better aware of AIDS. Awareness score for AIDS was below average. Screening was less frequent and participation of students in AIDS prevention initiatives was found to be negligible.