Evaluation of knowledge levels amongst village AIDS committees after undergoing HIV educational sessions: results from a pilot study in rural Tanzania

Abstract

BackgroundVillage AIDS committees (VAC) were formed by the Tanzanian government in 2003 to provide HIV education to their communities. However, their potential has not been realised due to their limited knowledge and misconceptions surrounding HIV, which could be addressed through training of VAC members. In an attempt to increase HIV knowledge levels and address common misconceptions amongst the VACs, an HIV curriculum was delivered to members in rural north western Tanzania.MethodsAn evaluation of HIV knowledge was conducted prior to and post-delivery of HIV training sessions, within members of three VACs in Kisesa ward. Quantitative surveys were used with several open-ended questions to identify local misconceptions and evaluate HIV knowledge levels. Short educational training sessions covering HIV transmission, prevention and treatment were conducted, with each VAC using quizzes, role-plays and participatory learning and action tools. Post-training surveys occurred up to seven days after the final training session.ResultsBefore the training, "good" HIV knowledge was higher amongst men than women (p = 0.041), and among those with previous HIV education (p = 0.002). The trade-centre had a faster turn-over of VAC members, and proximity to the trade-centre was associated with a shorter time on the committee.Training improved HIV knowledge levels with more members achieving a "good" score in the post-training survey compared with the baseline survey (p = < 0.001). The training programme was popular, with 100% of participants requesting further HIV training in the future and 51.7% requesting training at three-monthly intervals.ConclusionsIn this setting, a series of HIV training sessions for VACs demonstrated encouraging results, with increased HIV knowledge levels following short educational sessions. Further work is required to assess the success of VAC members in disseminating this HIV education to their communities, as well as up-scaling this pilot study to other regions in Tanzania with different misconceptions.

Determinants of comprehensive knowledge of HIV/AIDS among women of the reproductive age (15-49) in Uganda

“…This result is in consonance with other studies elsewhere. [8][9][10][11][12][13] In Raigad district of India, respondents below 20 years of age were also less likely to have comprehensive knowledge of HIV compared to those with older ages.…”

“…This result correlates with several findings. [8][9][10][11][12][13] A study conducted in Kenya, Swaziland, Zimbabwe, Tanzania, Lesotho, Malawi and Uganda also reported that urban women had greater knowledge of HIV prevention compared to rural women. 12 Respondents with primary and secondary+ (OR=1.63) 95% CI=1.34-1.99) (OR=3.6) 95% 2.86-4.58) respectively had significant (p=0.000) higher odds of having comprehensive knowledge compared to those with no education.…”

Do accurate HIV and antiretroviral therapy knowledge, and previous testing experiences increase the uptake of HIV voluntary counselling and testing? Results from a cohort study in rural Tanzania

“…However, once established, these groups need ongoing and substantial support, including regular training, if they are to become a more widely recognised source of accurate information for the local community, particularly since previous research has shown that committee members themselves often hold inaccurate HIV and ART-related beliefs that can be disseminated through the community [10,18]. …”

“There are bugs in condoms”: Tanzanian close-to-community providers' ability to offer effective adolescent reproductive health services

“…The large number of FGDs utilised in this study and the stratification of communities to include rural, urban and high-risk increases the representativeness of our findings, and makes this one of the largest studies of its kind. 23 24 However, although large, representative and inclusive, this study is not without limitations.…”

“…These misconceptions date back to the very early days of the HIV epidemic and it is disappointing that they persist despite the substantial and varied community information campaigns that have been implemented over the past two decades. 23 25 …”