AIDS knowledge attitude and behavior among residents in non-epidemic area in Anhui,China

Objective To identify the level of AIDS awareness,attitude and behavior and needs among various residents in non-epidemic area as the baseline of an intervention project.Methods Using clustered sampling method,county town and rural residents,middle school students and entertainment workers were selected and interviewed face to face using a semi-structured questionnaire.Results The proportions of AIDS awareness were: 80.0% among hotel workers,78.2% among county town residents,74.5% among entertainment workers,71.8% among rural residents and 60.2% among students,(χ2=205.95,P0.001).The proportion of knowing the three transmission routes(sex,blood and mother-to-child) were 92.7%,89.3% and 82.7%(χ2=42.17,P0.001).The proportion of knowing the facts of voluntary blood donation was 29.9%.The proportions of knowing voluntary counseling and testing(VCT) were 58.0% among hotel workers,36.3% among entertainment workers,35.7% among students,34.0% among county town residents and 24.0% among rural residents(χ2=40.01,P0.001).Conclusion In the non-epidemic area such as Huangshan district in Anhui,the levels of AIDS awareness,knowledge of voluntary blood donation and VCT service were low,and there was a strong need to develop educational project to raise the awareness of AIDS,voluntary blood donation and VCT service.