Evaluation of AIDS Awareness among Army Cadets in Tehran in 2004

Aims. AIDS is a pandemic disease worldwide W.H.O. has estimated that 75 million will have been infected by HIV by the end of 2005. Currently, there are 6600 AIDS patients in Iran. An effective way of curbing the AIDS pandemic is raising public awareness of HIV transmission. Methods. This is a descriptive study into AIDS awareness among 400 army cadets, who completed a twenty- item questionnaire on the transmission modes of AIDS. The answers were awarded points based on the three categories of questions: very significant, significant and insignificant. The results were then analyzed by SPSS v.12. Results. All the army cadets were men with a mean age of (19.11±1.06SD) years. The average score was (86), based upon which the levels of AIDS awareness were determined as excellent (16%) good (39%) mild (36%) and weak (11%). There was a significant correlation between the acquired and predicted levels of awareness (P<0.001). 99% and 95% of the subjects, respectively, gave correct answers about the tow most important ways of AIDS transmission, i.e. sexual contact and collective use of syringes. The television (46.8%) was the most important source of information on AIDS, followed by publications (23%). 82.8% of the subjects were holders of high school diplomas, and there was a significant relationship between the level of education and the degree of awareness (p = 0.016). Conclusion. We conclude that army cadets awareness of AIDS is insufficient consequently, the mass media and the television in particular should heighten public awareness. We also recommend that the methods of education be further evaluated so that the best possible means can be determined.