HIV/AIDS Knowledge and Attitudes, among Universities' Students in Qatar

Acquired Immune Deficiency Syndrome (AIDS) is one of the most complex health problems of the 21st century. This study aims to assess the knowledge and attitude toward HIV/AIDS among university students in Qatar, in order to assist the efforts of the National AIDS Committee in designing HIV/AIDS health education strategy for youth in Qatar. The study was carried out in two types of universities; governmental (Qatar University) and nongovernmental private universities of the Qatar Foundation and college of North Atlantic. A self‐administered questionnaire was distributed to all universities through the academic year 2008–2009 to investigate knowledge, attitudes, regarding HIV and AIDS. The questionnaire was divided into six sections with a total of 35 items. SPSS program version 17 was used for data entry and analysis. The overall response rate for this survey was 781/924 students (84%): 80% (385\477) in governmental universities and 88% in non‐governmental universities (396\447). The results revealed moderate knowledge about HIV/AIDS among college students. Female students demonstrated a slightly higher level of knowledge in comparison with male students and there were many misconception about how HIV is transmitted. e.g., by shaking hands, using public toilet, using public swimming pools etc, proportion of students thought that there is a cure and vaccine for AIDS. Most of the students, have been reported to have positive attitudes toward HIV\AIDS preventive measures. Mass media was considered as the main source of information.