tailieunhanh - Population based multicentric survey on the attitude and knowledge of HIV/AIDS among youth of the three senatorial districts in Jigawa state, Nigeria

AIDS is still an incurable disease and is very costly to control. Since the first case of Acquired Immune Deficiency Syndrome (AIDS) in Nigeria was reported in 1986, the human immune deficiency virus (HIV) infection has attained epidemic proportion. In an attempt to control this rapid spread, certain preventive measures have been developed. In spite of these and the campaigns to control it, the gap between the knowledge and attitudes of youths towards HIV/AIDS needs to be bridged. A Total of 1,500 One thousand five hundred youth between the age of 18- 50 from different educational levels of the three senatorial district of Jigawa state were approached. A structured questionnaire was issued to the respondents of two local Governments from each senatorial district. A clustered random sampling technique was employed for data collection. Our result showed that majority of youth within the age of 27- above have vast knowledge about HIV/AIDS and mostly lives in the urban areas. High percentage of youth 73% and 71% agree to live and share materials with people living with HIV/AIDS, even though misconception exist among rural dwellers about contracting the disease through eating, hugging and sharing of material. In conclusion, this study shows that although the awareness of HIV and its major routes of transmission are high in Jigawa State, there are gaps in the knowledge and attitudes of Youth of the state towards consequences of HIV and modes of transmission. | Population based multicentric survey on the attitude and knowledge of HIV/AIDS among youth of the three senatorial districts in Jigawa state, Nigeria