Knowledge, Beliefs and Attitudes towards AIDS among Intermediate and Secondary School Teachers; Baghdad

Abstract

Back ground: AIDS is considered a dreaded disease.
According to recent estimates, 42 million people suffer
from HIV/AIDS (90% of these being in the developing
countries), with 5 million people newly infected with HIV
and 3.1 million deaths in the year 2002 globally. At
present, there is no effective vaccine to prevent the
disease. Hence, Health education (Information, Education
and Communication) activities bringing about behavioral
changes in the community, promoting healthy sexual
behavior and preventing the risky ones is the best possible
solution to the problem of AIDS.
Objectives: To find out the knowledge, beliefs and
attitudes regarding various aspects of HIV/AIDS amongst
intermediate and secondary school teachers in Baghdad.
Methods: For this cross-sectional study, we randomly
selected 48 intermediate and secondary schools covering
the 6 educational directorates in Baghdad, and 642
teachers serving in these schools were selected to answer
the questionnaire containing different statements
concerning basic knowledge of the human
immunodeficiency virus (HIV) and Acquired
Immune Deficiency Syndrome (AIDS).
Results: Revealed an intermediate overall awareness
about HIV/AIDS.
Conclusions: Study highlights the need for teaching the
proper aspects of HIV/AIDS curriculum in Iraqi schools.