PUBLIC KNOWLEDGE AND ATTITUDE TOWARD HIV: A COMMUNITY-BASED CROSS-SECTIONAL STUDY IN TWIN CITIES, PAKISTAN

Hina Shan; Saadia Maqbool; Yousaf Tariq; Nasir Javed; Shazia Naqvi; Arslan Arshad; Saleha Ahmed; Muhammad Danyal; Uzma Hassan

doi:10.46903/gjms/23.1.Special.1747

PUBLIC KNOWLEDGE AND ATTITUDE TOWARD HIV: A COMMUNITY-BASED CROSS-SECTIONAL STUDY IN TWIN CITIES, PAKISTAN

Hina Shan, Saadia Maqbool, Yousaf Tariq, Nasir Javed, Shazia Naqvi, Arslan Arshad, Saleha Ahmed, Muhammad Danyal, Uzma Hassan

Abstract

Background: The knowledge and attitude about HIV/AIDS are crucial to foster an accepting and informed community for a positive shift in attitude towards an increasingly prevalent communicable disease. The study assessed the relationship between knowledge of HIV and attitudes towards People Living With HIV/AIDS (PLWHA)

Materials & Methods: This cross-sectional study was conducted for one year from February 1st, 2022, to 31 January 2023. A two-stage stratified cluster sampling method was used to collect data from 410 ever-married women and men aged 18 and above from the households in the urban area of Rawalpindi and Islamabad. Data were entered and analysed using SPSS version 27 and the Pearson chi-square test checked the association between the baseline characteristics and the discriminatory attitude towards People Living with HIV and AIDS (PLWHA). Binary logistic regression examined the statistical significance of associations between comprehensive knowledge of HIV and AIDS and the potential predictors. Ordinal logistic regression analysed knowledge and attitude to provide insights into how changes in knowledge level influence attitudes towards PLWHA at 5% level of significance.

Results: The mean age of responders was 34.4 ±12.1 years, with more than 28% of participants being in the less than 34 years age group. The results showed a significant gender difference in knowledge levels with a notable gender disparity in knowledge levels, with males being significantly less knowledgeable by 84% as compared to females, to have comprehensively knowledgeable [OR=0.161, 95% CI (0.071 to 0.367), P<0.001]. Out of 290 male respondents, 208 (71.7%) had a positive and inclusive attitude towards PLWHA, but it was even higher in female respondents (90%). The association between gender and attitude was statistically significant [chi-square (χ2) = 19.29, p <0.001]. For each unit increase in knowledge, the odds of being in a higher non-discriminatory attitude category increased by 85% [OR=0.152, 95% CI 0.091 to 0.253, p <0.001].

Conclusion: The findings from this study indicate that as knowledge increases, individuals become more likely to have a positive behaviour towards people living with HIV and AIDS.

Keywords

Attitude; HIV; Knowledge; Social determinants of health; Sociodemographic inequities; Stigma.

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References

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DOI: https://doi.org/10.46903/gjms/23.1.Special.1747