Investigating children's knowledge and understanding of AIDS

• Published in: The Journal of school health Vol. 63; no. 3; pp. 125 - 129
• Main Authors: Obeidallah, Dawn, Turner, Patricia, Iannotti, Ronald J., O'Brien, Robert W., Haynie, Denise, Galper, Daniel
• Format: Journal Article
• Language: English
• Published: Oxford, UK Blackwell Publishing Ltd 01.03.1993; American School Health Association
• Subjects: Acquired Immune Deficiency Syndrome; acquired immunodeficiency syndrome; Acquired Immunodeficiency Syndrome - prevention & control; age differences; AIDS; AIDS (Disease); AIDS/HIV; Attitude to Health; Child; Children; Children & youth; Curriculum Development; Data Collection - methods; Educational Needs; Elementary Education; Elementary School Students; Evaluation; Evaluation Methods; Grade 1; Grade 3; Grade 5; Guidelines; Health attitudes; Health education; Health Education - methods; Humans; Intellectual Development; Interviews; Knowledge; Knowledge Level; Nursing; Piagetian Theory; school children; Schools; Study and teaching
• ISSN: 0022-4391; 1746-1561
• DOI: 10.1111/j.1746-1561.1993.tb06097.x

Though AIDS education in schools reaches many adolescents, the incidence of adolescent HIV infection has risen dramatically. Reasons for failure to properly educate adolescents include not educating children prior to adolescence and neglecting to assess and address children's varying levels of cognitive development when designing AIDS education programs. Citing examples from a study of more than 600 elementary-age schoolchildren, this paper focuses on the importance of assessing children's understanding of disease processes rather than accepting their use of key phrases in appropriate contexts as reflecting knowledge, and using the level at which they understand disease processes rather than age as the primary determinant of students' readiness for comprehending AIDS-related concepts. Guidelines for assessing how well children understand disease processes, including use of nonleading probes, are presented.