Health Belief Model and HIV/AIDS among high school female students in Yazd, Iran

<p class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0cm 0cm 0pt; direction: ltr; line-height: 150%; unicode-bidi: embed; text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif";"><span style="font-size: small;">Acquired immune deficiency syndrome (AIDS) is a disease of the human </span></span><a title="Immune system" href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Immune_system"><span style="color: windowtext; font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; text-decoration: none; text-underline: none;"><span style="font-size: small;">immune system</span></span></a><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif";"><span style="font-size: small;"> that caused by the </span></span><a title="HIV" href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/HIV"><span style="color: windowtext; font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; text-decoration: none; text-underline: none;"><span style="font-size: small;">human immunodeficiency virus</span></span></a><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif";"><span style="font-size: small;"> (HIV) and </span></span><a title="Transmission (medicine)" href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Transmission_(medicine)"><span style="color: windowtext; font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; text-decoration: none; text-underline: none;"><span style="font-size: small;">transmitted</span></span></a><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif";"><span style="font-size: small;"> through direct contact of a </span></span><a title="Mucous membrane" href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mucous_membrane"><span style="color: windowtext; font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; text-decoration: none; text-underline: none;"><span style="font-size: small;">mucous membrane</span></span></a><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif";"><span style="font-size: small;"> or the bloodstream with a </span></span><a title="Bodily fluid" href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bodily_fluid"><span style="color: windowtext; font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; text-decoration: none; text-underline: none;"><span style="font-size: small;">bodily fluid</span></span></a><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif";"> containing HIV. <sup>(1-4) <span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span><span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span></sup>It is such a strange and frightening disease that sometimes people stopped thinking about it as a disease and start to wrap it in different layers of mystery<span dir="rtl" lang="FA">.</span><sup>(5)</sup></span><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; mso-ansi-language: EN-GB;" lang="EN-GB"> According to the latest figures published in the UNAIDS/WHO 2006 AIDS Epidemic Update, an estimated 39.5 million people are living with HIV. <sup>(6)</sup><span style="color: red;"> </span></span><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif";">An </span><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; mso-fareast-font-family: 'Times New Roman';">important factor in the spread of HIV/AIDS is believed to be poor knowledge about how it is spread and can be prevented. </span><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif";">The utility of the Health Belief Model continues to be suggested in identifying preventive behaviors.</span><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; mso-ansi-language: EN-GB;"> </span><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif";">This study is a cross- sectional study that 180 female students from three high schools in Yazd, Iran, completed a specially designed questionnaire, based on Health Belief Model in spring 2009. </span><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; mso-ansi-language: EN-GB;" lang="EN-GB">Our data showed that the </span><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif";">mean score of perceived susceptibility was 21.19 (out of 32) and perceived severity was 12.47 (out of 24). Also the mean score<span dir="rtl"> </span>of<span dir="rtl"> </span>perceived benefits and barriers were 9.05 and 9.45 (out of 12 and out of 16 respectively). The respondents acquired 46.61% of total knowledge score, 66.21% of perceived susceptibility, 51.95% of perceived severity, 75.41% of perceived benefits and 59.06% of perceived barriers. A positive association found between knowledge and perceived susceptibility. </span><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; mso-ansi-language: EN-GB;" lang="EN-GB">Therefore </span><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif";">according to our results, the low level of perceived susceptibility and severity to HIV/AIDS among high school female students may not prevent them to not try a risky behavior in this area. <a name="OLE_LINK3"></a><a name="OLE_LINK4"><span style="mso-bookmark: OLE_LINK3;">The results of this study revealed that, mean grade scores of perceived severity of participants about HIV/AIDS was near mean. These results revealed, the participants not accepted that are in higher risk about HIV/AIDS. In this condition, students don't try to prevent HIV/AIDS. In a factor analysis principal components<span dir="rtl"> </span>of the Health Belief Model constructs indicated perceived susceptibility is multidimensional, so sporadic condom user perceived themselves and their partners as at highest risk of AIDS and other sexually transmitted disease. <sup>(7)</sup> </span></a>In that study, prisoners decreased their HIV high-risk behaviors (e.g., used clean syringes) when they believed in the effectiveness of strategies designed to reduce the risk or seriousness of impact of the health condition. This does not mean that the other two components of the HBM are not effective in explaining health related behavior.</span></span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0cm 0cm 0pt; direction: ltr; line-height: 150%; unicode-bidi: embed; text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif";"><span style="font-size: small;">There was significant difference between mean grade scores of knowledge and perceived susceptibility and educational field of participants. (p<0.001) </span></span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0cm 0cm 0pt; direction: ltr; line-height: 150%; unicode-bidi: embed; text-align: justify; mso-layout-grid-align: none;"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif";"><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="mso-spacerun: yes;">   </span>A negative significant correlation between perceived severity with knowledge and perceived susceptibility, indicates that the students who have not perceived susceptibility and severity to a health problem like HIV/AIDS may not try in preventing it.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;">  </span>Moreover, Health Belief Model can be used as a conceptual frame work in interventional programs for HIV/AIDS.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;">  </span></span></span></p&gt