Background

Background: Inadequate knowledge, negative attitudes towards people living with HIV/AIDS and risky practices are related to the spread of HIV infection. This study aimed to explore and test associations between knowledge, attitude and AIDS prevention behavior among students in Kham Mouane Technical-Vocation College, Lao People’s Democratic Republic. Methods: A cross-sectional, self-report questionnaire study was conducted in May 2018. Pearson's Chi-squared test and binary logistic regression was used to test the association between variables. Results: Of 939 participants, it was found that: 61.6% were women; the mean age was 20.7 years (range 18-28 years); 40.2% lived in the college dormitory; >80% drank alcoholic beverages; 31.9% drank until slightly intoxicated; 13.7% drank until drunk; and the average drinking rate was 1-2 times a month (50%). Knowledge levels about the route of HIV transmission and how it can be controlled were poor. Misunderstood issues included: HIV transmission can be controlled by having a single partner and using condoms while having sex was correctly understood by only 22.8%; 72% incorrectly reported that HIV can be transmitted through a mosquito bite; and 48.2% believed incorrectly that drinking alcohol can disinfect HIV. Attitudes towards HIV were at a moderate level: the participants believed that infected persons should not reveal themselves in public, at work or college, and that requesting a boyfriend use a condom showed mistrust. HIV prevention practices were reported at a better level: reducing opportunity for sex by not cohabiting or staying privately with a lover and wearing condoms regularly during sexual intercourse, although more than 70% still drank alcohol when visiting nightclubs, associated with an increased likelihood of unprotected sex. Conclusions: Public and community stakeholders need to design HIV prevention classes suited to college environments to improve students’ knowledge, attitudes and risky behavior practices related to HIV.

Older adults are relatively physically active compared to other age group. A lack of physical activity (PA) can cause chronic diseases including osteoarthritis of knee (OA knee) and might eventually reduce quality of life (QOL). This present study was aimed to investigate association between levels of PA and OA knee with levels of QOL in community-dwelling older adults. One thousand and sixty-seven community-dwelling older persons were recruited to this descriptive study. PA activity questionnaire was invented. Standardized Oxford knee score and World Health Organization’s Quality of Life scale (WHOQOL-BREF) were used to measure OA knee and QOL levels. Results showed that levels of PA in older adults were significantly associated with levels of OKS (χ2 = 78.565, P-value < .001) and levels of OA knee in older adults were significantly associated with levels of overall QOL (χ2 = 57.738, P-value < .001). Pearson’s correlation also showed interrelation among PA, OA knee, and QOL. In conclusion, PA, OA knee, and QOL are interrelated. Therefore, close monitoring and design of proper PA activity should be implemented in community-dwelling older adults with OA knee.

This paper mainly studies the smartphone application for health vigilance in elderly adults, based on geographic information system (GIS) for village health volunteers (OSOMO in Thai) to monitor elderly’s health. Eight areas from 4 provinces of 7th health territory (Roi Et, Khon Kaen, Maha Sarakham, and Kalasin) were employed for research. The smartphone application called “OSOMO Prompt” was created for both iPhone (iOS) and Android devices for 1,246 OSOMOs. The comparison results of the difference of mean scores of knowledge of before and after using the “OSOMO Prompt” smartphone application, showed that the trial group, 240 elderly participants had the mean scores after smartphone application use of 1.69, higher than before use smartphone application. The results also indicated a statistically significant difference (p-value < .001) at 95%, confidence interval between 2.15–1.22. In conclusion, the “OSOMO Prompt” smartphone application was proved as a tool for village health volunteers to make health decision for the elderly persons. Moreover, the system was easy to use and could improve the quality of the elderly’s healthcare.