Aids awareness and knowledge among Botswana women: Implications for prevention programs

Abstract

In-depth interviews with 56 urban women in Botswana revealed high levels of AIDS awareness and high reliance on mass media information. Many of the women expressed confusion about AIDS as an illness, that is, its symptoms and the latent period. Nearly all of the women were aware that the virus that leads to AIDS is sexually transmitted and believed that condoms are effective for prevention. However, one third had incorrect knowledge about transmission, lacking a full understanding of sexual transmission and believing that transmission can occur through casual contact. Two thirds believed they were at risk for getting AIDS, usually because they did not trust their partners and lacked control over their partners' behaviors. More than half of the women said they had changed their behaviours to prevent AIDS. Thirty-six said they had only one partner, but only 11 said they used condoms or would do so with a future partner. The women's responses provide important information on gaps in AIDS knowledge that need to be addressed in AIDS prevention.

HIV/AIDS Health Literacy in Zimbabwe

“…Our focus group results corroborate similar findings about HIV attitudes andbeliefs in severalo therAfrican prevention education studies [5,6,30,31]. Theg apsi np erceptionsabout the imperative for condoms, like another such assessment [31], affirm our intent to further develop health literacy campaigns that include educational offerings, counseling services, musical events and other campus activities.…”

An Evaluation of an HIV/AIDS Prevention Program in a Nigerian Setting

“…Individuals' instrumental knowledge of HIV/AIDS and their accurate perception of the personal risk enhanced condom use. Previous studies (Ezeokana & Nnedum, 2007;Gillmore, Morrison, Richey, Balassone, Gutierraz & Farris, 1997;Norr & McElmurry, 1996) have had similar findings that individuals with high refusal to engage in HIV risk behaviour were more likely to use condoms.…”

“…The Perceived Personal Risk Scale (Norr, Tiou & McElmurry, 1996) was used to measure the belief that an individual could be at risk of contracting AIDS. It is a two items subscale scored on a 5-point Likert Scale (1 = strongly disagree to 5 = strongly agree).…”

I'm Not a "Basabasa" Woman: An Explanatory Model of HIV Illness in Ghanaian Women

“…Kenyan women associated AIDS with sexual activity but misunderstood the transmission of the virus through body fluids (Kielmann, 1997). Incorrect knowledge about sexual transmission and a belief that HIV could be transmitted through casual contact was found in a recent study of women in Botswana (Norr, Tlou, & McElmurray, 1996).…”