Table 2.
Respondents’ knowledge about some aspects of HIV/AIDS (N = 268)
| Topic | Correct answers | Correctly agreed (%) | Incorrect answers | Correctly disagreed (%) |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Cause of HIV infection | Virus | 210 (78.4) | AIDS | 62 (23.1) |
| Sins | 118 (44.0) | |||
| Bacteria | 119 (44.4) | |||
| Curse | 139 (51.9) | |||
| Tuberculosis (TB) | 132 (49.3) | |||
| Activities or conditions that facilitate HIV transmission | Multiple sex partners | 224 (83.6) | Misfortune/bad luck | 113 (42.2) |
| Unprotected sex | 220 (82.1) | Sins | 117 (43.7) | |
| Sex between men | 208 (77.6) | Taking care of a sick relative | 144 (53.7) | |
| Polygamy | 169 (63.1) | Shaking hands | 176 (65.7) | |
| Getting pregnant | 91 (34.0) | Donating blood | 71 (26.5) | |
| Receiving blood | 217 (81.0) | A bite from an HIV infected person | 47 (17.5) | |
| Sharing needles | 229 (85.4) | A bite from an infected mosquito | 79 (29.5) | |
| Sharing a shaver | 191 (71.3) | Drinking out of the same glass | 130 (48.5) | |
| Sharing a toothbrush | 173 (64.6) | Sharing a swimming pool | 138 (51.5) | |
| Having Syphilis | 95 (35.4) | Having Tuberculosis | 89 (33.2) | |
| Having Chlamydia | 91 (34.0) | |||
| Body fluids that can transmit HIV | Blood | 245 (91.4) | Saliva | 82 (30.6) |
| Semen | 203 (75.7) | Feces | 112 (41.8) | |
| Vaginal fluid | 178 (66.4) | Urine | 141 (52.6) | |
| Breast milk | 151 (56.3) | Sweats | 153 (57.1) | |
| Tears | 170 (63.4) | |||
| Anti retroviral therapy | Reduces the amount of HIV in the bloodstream | 109 (40.7) | Eliminates completely HIV from the body | 150 (56.0) |
| Delay the onset of symptoms in infected persons | 96 (35.8) | Stops infected persons from passing on HIV to others | 89 (33.2) | |
| Makes HIV manageable like other chronic diseases such as diabetes or high blood pressure | 54 (20.1) | Makes HIV manageable the way antibiotics deal with common infections | 104 (38.8) | |
| Stops infected persons from dying | 100 (37.3) | |||
| HIV and Tuberculosis | People with HIV are at high risk of TB | 166 (61.9) | Everyone with TB has HIV infection | 158 (59.0) |
| People with HIV are more likely to die from TB | 157 (58.6) | TB is incurable in persons with dual infection | 124 (46.3) |