The knowledge of students of Islamic Azad University, Mazandaran among AIDS and appropriate strategies

Introduce: In Iran the First Case of Human Immunodeficiency Virus (HIV) was reported in 1987. This was followed by a rapid increase in the number of cases. There are several factors that contribute to the higher risk of HIV infection among young people e.g. first sexual experiences, the higher ratio of sexually transmitted diseases, addiction that begins usually at this age, and so on. We intended to assess the knowledge of Aids among mazandaran Azad University s, Students in Iran and produce suitable prevention. Eight hundred and seventy students of the Mazandaran Azad University Completed a 52-item questionnaire. The Subjects were selected through different stages with final randomization. The validity and reliability of the tool were determined by content validity and test – retest method respectively. The mean age of the respondents was 21.5 years however 49.5% of them were below 20 years. 96.1% Were aware of AIDS but 82.5% of students expressed a wish to know more about HIV.AIDS. "Television and books" Were the main sources of information by the participants. Female sex, Course of study age of groups, though statistically significant (p<0.05) were maximally associated with students, Knowledge about HIV/AIDS. Against to a question about the best way of fighting AIDS, 90% of the students believed that investment on youth education is the best method. Although this survey showed the knowledge level seems to be moderately high but we believe that there is a need to change and to promote the present notification and education methods for ADIS.