Mohammed Razzaq Malik, Ali Hussain, Shazia Majid, Mohammed Zafar Iqbal.
Education, the only vaccine available for the control of HIV/AIDS.
J Sheikh Zayed Med Coll Jan ;1(3):82-6.

Back ground: HIV/AIDS is a potentially fatal disease. However, vast majority of the world`s youth are unaware about the modes of transmission and prevention. Objectives: The objective of this study was to assess the impact of health education on the knowledge and beliefs of college students toward HIV/AIDS in Pakistan. Patients & Methods: This was an interventional study conducted in the Government Khawaja Fareed Post Graduate Degree College, Rahim Yar Khan, during the year 2009. It was conducted in two phases. In first phase, baseline data was collected to assess level of knowledge and belief of students about HIV/ AIDS. 350 students of different classes participated in this study. Then a comprehensive lecture was delivered regarding transmission and prevention of HIV/AIDS. After a period of three months of this medical education intervention, the participants of first phase were asked to take part in second phase. A total of 314 students of previous group participated i.e 89.71% of the participants of the first phase. The data was collected and analyzed by SPSS version 14. Results: The mean age of the students was 17.44 + 1.28 years. The knowledge of the students of 13th and 14th years of education was better as compared to 11th and 12th years of education. In the second phase, 314 participants joined the study. There was significant improvement in the knowledge of students about HIV (p<0.000) and its modes of preventions (p < 0.000). Conclusion: It is necessary that sufficient knowledge about transmission and prevention of HIV/AIDS should be given to adolescents especially college students. College students should be encouraged to discuss about HIV/AIDS sequelae and prevention.

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