Abstract
Jordan has a low prevalence of the Human Immunodeficiency Virus (HIV)/ Acquired Immunodeficiency Syndrome (AIDS). However, HIV/AIDS is an important global public health issue and medical students in Jordan need to be well-informed about it. To assess Mutah Medical School students’ knowledge about HIV/AIDS and to explore their attitudes toward people living with HIV (PLWH). A cross-sectional study conducted in 2013 among clinical years students using a self-administered questionnaire. A total of 209 students filled the questionnaire. Slightly more than half of the students reported having received adequate or more than adequate teaching on sterilization procedures (53%) and barriers (55%), while only 43% reported similar teaching received of cross-infection precautions. The students showed a good overall knowledge about HIV/AIDS and the transmission routes of HIV. However, some misconceptions existed such as thinking that HIV could be transmitted by mosquitos (30%) and flies (10%). Negative attitudes were displayed toward patients with HIV/AIDS with 89% agreeing that AIDS makes their job a high-risk occupation and 60% agreeing that given a choice, they would prefer not to work with AIDS patients. Although there was a good overall knowledge of the students about HIV/AIDS, negative attitudes were prevalent towards PLWH.
Original language | English |
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Pages (from-to) | 591-598 |
Number of pages | 8 |
Journal | Journal of Pure and Applied Microbiology |
Volume | 9 |
Issue number | Special Edition 1 |
Publication status | Published - 2015 |
Externally published | Yes |
Keywords
- Attitudes
- HIV/AIDS
- Jordan
- Medical students
- Stigma
ASJC Scopus subject areas
- Biotechnology
- Microbiology
- Applied Microbiology and Biotechnology