Knowledge, attitude and practice towards AIDS among civil servants in Nigeria

• Published in: Journal of the Royal Society of Health Vol. 115; no. 1; p. 19
• Main Authors: Okojie, O H, Ogbeide, O, Nwulia, A
• Format: Journal Article
• Language: English
• Published: England 01.02.1995
• Subjects: Acquired Immunodeficiency Syndrome - epidemiology; Acquired Immunodeficiency Syndrome - etiology; Acquired Immunodeficiency Syndrome - psychology; Adult; Awareness; Female; Health Knowledge, Attitudes, Practice; Humans; Male; Middle Aged; Nigeria - epidemiology; Surveys and Questionnaires; Nigeria; Attitude; Africa; Kap Surveys; Viral Diseases; Psychological Factors; Hiv Infections; Research Methodology; English Speaking Africa; Knowledge; Sampling Studies; Diseases; Studies; Surveys; Western Africa; Acquired Immunodeficiency Syndrome; Developing Countries; Africa South Of The Sahara; Behavior; Sex Behavior; Nigeria
• ISSN: 0264-0325
• DOI: 10.1177/146642409511500107

A study about knowledge, attitude and practice (KAP) towards AIDS was carried out amongst 340 randomly selected workers in Benin City in Nigeria using self-administered questionnaires. Three hundred and thirty (97.1%) of the workers were aware of the existence of AIDS but only 50 (14.7%) had the correct knowledge of the aetiology of AIDS, and of these 29 (8.5%) had tertiary education. Generally there was a good knowledge of the different routes of transmission except for the erroneous belief by a high number, 125 (36.8%) and 129 (37.9%) that it could be transmitted through sharing of utensils and causal kissing respectively. The attitude to AIDS sufferers is poor and 156 (45.9%) actually think they should be ostracized. Twenty-one (6.2%) of the respondents still keep multiple sexual partners while 142 (41.8%) would willingly use the condom for safer sex. There is therefore the need for an intensive and effective health education campaign to combat this deadly disease in the country.