Untitled

Abstract

It is important to assess the knowledge and attitude towards HIV/AIDS, as it helps in the prevention of the disease. The objective of this study was to determine the knowledge and attitude among health students at Princess Nourah Bint Abdulrahman University. This study utilized a descriptive cross sectional multi stage cluster with sample size of 500 students. Data was collected using a structured self-administered questionnaire after approval from the institutional review board, and analyzed using the Statistical Package of Social Sciences version 25. Written informed consent was obtained from each participant. The results showed that 92.4, 92.4, and 94.6% of the study population knew the definition, the transmission by blood transfusion and sexual intercourse, respectively. The lowest reported knowledge was the transmission through saliva and tears and the latent period respectively (37.8%, 15.2%). Having a positive attitude of dealing with HIV/AIDS patients was only 11%. The highest agreement was about the willingness to take care of the infected family member (64.6%). There is a significant relationship between attitude and knowledge about vertical transmission (p<0.05).In conclusion, although there was a knowledge gap such as the latency period ,the overall knowledge was good. In general, there was neutral attitude towards dealing with HIV patients.