Knowledge, Attitude and Practice Regarding HIV/AIDS among University Students in Xinjiang

Objective: The aim of this paper is to assess the level of knowledge on HIV/AIDS and its risk factors, attitude towards HIV/AIDS and AIDS patients and its transmission, and to identify high risk behaviors associated with HIV/AIDS among university students in the Xinjiang Uyghur Autonomous Region. Methodology: A cross– sectional survey was conducted among students enrolled in two universities, the Xinjiang University (XU) and Xinjiang Medical University (XMU). Data was collected using validated self-administered standardized questionnaire on knowledge, attitude and practice regarding HIV/AIDS among 200 students from XU and 200 students from XMU who agreed to participate in the study Result: Among the 400 students who participated in the study, the mean knowledge score was 19.3 +5.5 and their knowledge score ranged from 2 to 30. Two hundred and ninety eight (74.5%) students had knowledge score above 15. Mean knowledge scores were significantly higher among males (p=0.04), those who majored in medical courses (p = 0.01), those in the final year of study in university (p=0.04) and by ethnicity, among Han Chinese (p=0.00). However only 33.3 % of the students had positive attitude towards HIV/AIDS and patients with HIV/AIDS. Mean attitude scores were not significantly different by sex, study major, year of study or ethnicity. With regards to high risk behaviors associated with HIV transmission, 15.8 % of these students had at least one risk behavior related to unprotected sexual exposure. High-risk behavior wa