Research Problem: What is the level of awareness about AIDS amongst senior secondary school teach­ers? Objective: To study the level of awareness, knowl­edge and attitudes regarding HIV/AIDS amongst senior secondary school teachers. Study Design: Cross-sectional study by question­naire method. Setting: 2 randomly selected government schools of East. Delhi. Sample Size: 74 school teachers. Study Variables: Mode of transmission, preventive measures, social outcasting, Family Life Style Edu­cation. Statistical Analysis: By tests of significance. Result: 25.6% respondents thought that HIV/AIDS was curable after IEC intervention. In general, the awareness level increased after the IEC intervention. 77% of the teachers recommended that Family Life Style Education should be started from middle school level onwards. 47.2% recommended doctors as the most suitable persons to impart the same

Aggarwal, O P

Bhasin, Sanjeev

Dubey, K K

Pandit, Kusum

English

Indian Journal of Community Health

AIDS AWARENESS, KNOWLEDGE AND_ATTITUDE AMONGST THE SENIORSECONDARY SCHOOL TEACHERS IN EAST DELHI SCHOOLSThe Indian Journal 01 Community Health_______________________________________ 42Kusum Pandit •• Sanjeev Bhasin ••• K.K.Dubey •••• Aggarwal.ABSTRACT:Research Problem: What is the level of awarenessabout AIDS amongst senior secondary school teach-ers?Objective: To study the level of awareness. knowl-edge and attitudes regarding HIV /AIDS amongstsenior secondary school teachers.Study Design: Cross-sectional study by question-naire method.Setting: 2 randomly selected government schools ofEast. Delhi.Sample Size: 74 school teachers.Study Variables: Mode of transmission. preventivemeasures. social outcasting. Family Life Style Edu-cation.Statistical Analysis: By tests of significance.social. cultural. economic. political. ethical and legalimplications I . Sexual cohabitation is the predominantmode of transmission of HI V/AIDS infection. Becauseof the sensitivity of the issues associated with sexualbehaviour. public health officials and educationistsconfront major problems in the prevention and controlofHIV/AIDS.Adolescent age group is an important segmentof population and potential resource for preventionof HIV transmission. Today around 25% of the world'sAIDS cases are in their twenties and its likely thesepeople may have become infected with HIV duringtheir adolescent period.'In many communities. the problem increaseswhen preventive measures are specifically addressedto young people between 10-19 years. Nevertheless.these young people constitute an important targetgroup and a potential resource for the prevention ofHIV and AIDS infection'. A large number of youngpeople throughout the world attend schools or are incontact with those who do: IResult: 25.6% respondents thought that HIV /AIDSwas curable after IEC intervention. In general, theawareness level increased after the IEC intervention.77% of the teachers recommended that Family LifeStyle Education .should be started from middle schoollevel onwards. 47.2% recommended doctors as themost suitable persons to impart the same.Key Words: HIV/AIDS. Knowledge, IEC. Family LifeStyle Education.INTRODUCTION:Infection with the Human ImmunodeficiencyVirus (HIV) and the Acquired Immunoi DeficiencySyndrome are urgent problems worldwide with broadTi II date there is no cure for HIV /AIDS and theonly armour we have got agaisnt HIV /AIDS is preven-tion. This can be achieved by Primary Preventionthrough dissemination of information, health educa-tion and communication (IEC).School teachers as a group come in closecontact with the adolescent population. They are theones who can instill correct values in the impression-able minds at this.growing age. Correct values, onceimbibed, go a long way in shaping the life of scho'olchildren. Hence teacher's views and knowledge re-garding HIV/AIDS are'very important, so that theyimpart correct knowledge about this dreaded diseaseAIDS to the school children. These school childrenwill ultimately serve as catalytic agents to spread rightProfessor, •• Reader, ••• Social worker,Deptt. of Preventive and Social Medicine,University Col/ege of Medical Sciences and G. T.B. Hospital, Delhi - I 0095.___________________ IJCH 9 May -I •The Indian Journal of Community Healthawareness arldCorrect knowledKe in the community inthe long run.OBJECTIVES:Keeping the above mentioned points in mind,a study was conducted amongst the senior second-ary school teachers with the following objectives:(a) To know the level of awareness and knowl-edge about HIV/AIDS amongst the schoolteachers;(b) To know the attitude of teachers towardsHIV/AIDS patients;(c) To judge the impact of lEC on awareness,knowledge and attitude regarding HIV /AIDS;(d) To ascertain the level of formal learning atwhich Family Life Style Education should be'imparted in school; and(e) To find out to whom do the teachers recom-mend to be the right person to impart FamilyLife Style.Education at school level.MATERIAL AND METHOD:The study was done in two randomly selectedgovernment schools situated in East Delhi. The com-bined strength of students of both thte schools was3356. Nearly 74 teachers participated in this study. Asuitably structured and pretested questionnaire con-taining questions on awareness, knowledge and atti-tude towards HIV /AIDS as a disease was distributedamongst the teachers. The respondents were alsoasked to give their recommendations pertaining to thestarting of Family Life Style Education (FLSE) at shc0 0 1 level. The second recommendation was related tothe suitability of the person who could effectivelyimpart FLSE to the school children.43ten days on the same group' of teachers. This gap oftendays was purposely kept to encourage interpersonalcommunications an-.d.-discussions amongst thf"',selveson the subject of AIDS. For post-lEC evalua.IOO. thesame questionnaire was distrubuted amongst the samegroup of teachers.This was to judge their level of enhancementin knowledge and awareness about HIV /AIDS as wellas the attitudinal changes towards HIV /AIDS patients.In the wake of this additional knowledge and subse-quent concern, their recommendations were also elic-ited regarding FLSE for school children.Those teachers who did not attend pre-IECsessions on HIV/AIDS, though present on post-lECday, were not included in the study.RESULT:AWARENESS LEVEL ABOUT HIY/AIDS. PRE ANDPOST IEC INTERVENTION (Table-I)The pre-lEC intervention level regardingawareness about HIV /AIDS was relatively high amongstthe senior secondary school teachers. The increase inawareness levels after IEC interventions was encour-agingly good, particularly for understanding of factsthat no transmission of HIV /AIDS can occur due tocasual contact, utensils, clothes and toilets (p valueswere significant for these questions). AIDS is a fataldisease, this fact was better understood at post-lEClevel.KNOWLEDGE_ REGARDING HIY/AIDS - PRE ANDPOST - IEC INTERVENTION (Table - II)This questionnaire revealed their initial levelof awareness, knowledge and attitude towards HIV /AIDS as a disease. This was pre-lEC testing. Thissession was followed by an exhibition of posters andprinted material on HIV /AIDS. Few handouts on HIV/ AIDS were also distributed amongst the teachers. Acouple of audiovisual tapes on HIV /AIDS were alsoshown to the group. Finally, there was an open dis-cussion on HIV /AIDS with the group. During thediscussion, misconceptions and apprehensions re-garding HIV /AIDS were removed.The IEC intervention shows a definite enhance-ment in their knowledge in general, and of verticaltransmission of AIDS by pregnant mothers to theiroffsprings in pa~ticular (p being at 0.016 level). Roleof homosexuals in transmisSion of HIV /AIDS wasmore clear at post-lEC inter~~enti'~n (p being 0.000 I).The increasing emphasis ~reventive measures likecondom use was significantly better understood atpost-IEC levels (p being 0..03 I). One third of the re-spondents (25.6%) thought that HIV/AIDS was cur-able. This fallacy was corrected during discussions aspart of intervention methodology. After lEC interven-tion, it was quite clear that social outcasting of HIV/post-lEe evaluation was done after a gap ~f AIDS patients and their subsequent isolation was a------------------- IJCH 9The Indian Journal of Community Healthmost unwarranted practice. However 5.4% of theteachers did not attempt the question of isolation ofAIDS patients even after post-IEC session. This showsthat a small minority of teachers had some reserva-tions on this point.ATTITUDE TOWARDS AIDS PATIENTSIDISEASEPRE AND POST-IEC SESSION (Table - III)Despite the fact that AIDS is a social disease,44% of the teachers maintained that AIDS as a diseasedoes not bother them personally. Pre and post IECdifference was not statistically significant, since pvalue was at. 1.000 level. As far as creation of aware-ness regarding HIV /AIDS amongst school studentswas concerned, the initial agreement was 93.2%amongst the teachers. But after IEC intervention,100% agreement emerged amongst the teachers forthe creation of awareness in tthe school students.Regarding the reaction of teachers to a specific ques-tion "if you meet an AIDS case, how will you react ?",there was relative positivity, after IEC interventionp.articularly for questions like rendering help or show-ing sympathetic attitude towards HIV /AIDS patients(Fig. I)RECOMMENDA TIONS OF SCHOOL TEACHERSAs far as the recommendations of the schoolteachers for Family Life Style Education to be intro-duced in schools was concerned, there was 100%agreement, after IEC intervention, against 97.2% ini-tially asking for it. Majority (77%) of the teachersrecommended that Family Life Style Education shouldbe started from middle school level onwards, whereasa small minority (20.2%) wanted it to start from primaryschool level onwards. This shows the concern ofteachers towards the changing social value system inthe society. Their final recommendation regardingwho is in a better position to impart Family Life StyleEducation to school children, about 47.2% teachersremommended doctors as the most suitable person toimpart Family Life Style Education to schoolchildren.(Fig. II) The second most suited person asper their opinion was the teacher (44.5%). Before IECintervention ,28.2%.t~achers had recommended so-cial worker as one of the suitable choices to giveFamily Life Style Education to the school children,but after the IEC intervention this figure came do-wnto 6.7% level.44DISCUSSION:Teachers as a category play an important rolein not only creating awareness and knowledge amongstthe students but are also viewed as role models. Astudy conducted by Srivastava et aF in Lucknow dis-trict regarding AIDS awareness amongst school teach-ers emphasized on special orientation programmes forschool teachers with long term objectives of an AIDSeduation through schools which will go a long way indissemination of health knowledge to the youngpeople. These young people are the parents of futureand hence their health and resoucefulness will be amajor factor in determining the health of their familiesand future generations to come3.Kipp W, Kwered, EM et. al. did a study inKabarole district of Uganda among teachers and stu-dents in primary and secondary schools to know aboutIthe awareness levels ofHIV/AIDS4• According to theirstudy 86% of teachers understood that HIV /AIDs couldbe transmitted by unsafe blood. Regarding the use ofsafe sex methods, 78% of teachers advocated the useof condoms. 25% of the teachers thought that condomsprotect only the male partner from HIV/AIDS4•A study done by Oz on Israeli from Arabteachers' attitude towards the inclusion of Life StyleEducation programme in their schools also found highdegree of support for this concept amon'g the teach-erss. Another study done by Oladepo and Akintayo atIbadan, Nigeria on secondary school teachers regard-ing their attitudes towards inclusion of sex educatio'n .in the school curriculum6, revealed that none of therespondents was able to define sex eduation adequatelyand 34.8% could not identify content areas of sexeducation, Surprisingly married female teachers andthose aged 40 years and above were less favourablydisposed to the introduction of sex education at schoollevel6• There is an increasing need .for urgent orga-nized health education programme as desired by sec-ondary school teachers of Alexandria, in Egypt?The threat of HIV /AIDS is very real in alldeveloping countries including Indias. Keeping this inview, efforts put in by NCERT (National Council ofEducation Research and Training) in preparing guide-lines for introducing Family Life Style Education atschool level is a progiessive step in the rightdirection by the Government of India.UCD 9I •The Indian Journal of Community Health________________________________ 45Awareness regarding HIV/AIDS amongst the senior secondary school teachers pre andpost IEC Intervention.Pre _ IE r- Post - IECNo. ofS. Question respo- Yes No Not Yes No Not P value Signif-No. ndents attem- attem- icanceDted ~'~Heard about AIDS 74 66 - 8 74 - - 1.000 not sign-(89.1 ) - (10.8) (100.0 ificanceDo HIV/AIDS cases 72 - 2 74 - 1.000 not sign-occur in India (97.2) - (2.7) ificanceHIV/AIDS occurs only 69 3* 2 74 - - 0.90 not sign-(93.2) (2.7) ificance.AIDS is fatal 46 5 74 - - 0.000 significant(62.1) 23(31.0) (6.4)5. Can HIV/AIDS be transmitted 29 3 - 74 - 0.000 significantby casual contact (shaking (39.1) 42(56.7) (4.0)handslh ugginglkissing)Can HIV/AIDS be transmitted 11 4 - 74 - 0.001 significantby utensils / c1othesltoilet (14.8) 59(79.7) (5.4)Can HIV/AIDS be transmitted 8 65(87.8) 1 - 74 - 0.008by sneezing/coughing 10.8 1.38. Can HIV / AIDS be transmittec 70 - 4 74 - - 1.000 notby having sex with multiple (94.5) (5.4) significantpartnersNOTE: * 3 respondents said that it occurs in females only.Figures in parentheses jndicate percentage.Not attempted were excluded from the analysisn.s -!JeD 9The Indian Journal Community HealthKnowledge regarding HIV/AIDS amongst the senior secondary school teachers pre andpost IEC interventionPre - IEC Post - IECNOTE: Figures in parentheses represent percentage.Not attempted were excluded from the analysis.No. of Not atS. Question respo Yes No temp- Yes No Notatt P value Signi.No. dents ted empted ficant1. Can HIV/AIDS be transmitted by 74 '69 . 1 74 - - 0.125 not sig-the use of needles/syringes (93.2) (1.3) (100) nificant2. Should all blood products for human 69 - 5 74 - - 1.000 not sig-consumption be tested for HIV/AIDS (93.2) (6.3) (100) ficant3. Can HIV/AIDS infected pregnant female 61 7(9.4) 6 74 - - 0.016 signi-transmit the infection to the newborn (89.4) (8.1) (100) ficant4. Can homesexuals transmit HIV/AIDS 53 13 8 70 - 4(5.4) 0.000 signi-(71.6) (17.5) (10.8) (94.5) ficant5. Can IV drug abusers transmit HIV/AIDS 68 4(5.4) 2 72. - 2(2.7) 0.125 not sig-(91.8) (2.7) (97.2) - nificant6. Is HIV/AIDS preventable 64 6(8.1) 4 73 - 1(1.3) 0.031 signi-(86.4) (5.4) (98.6) ficant7. Is HIV/AIDS curable 19 54(72.9) 1 - 73(98.7 1 0.000 signi-(25.6) (1.3) (1.3) ficant8. Does condom prevent sexualtransmission of HIV/AIDS 66 6(8.1) 2 74 - - 0.031 signi-(89.1) (2.7) ficantIs vaccine available for HIV/AIDS 17 48(64.8) 9 - 74 - 0.000 signi-prevention (22.9) (12.1) ficant(22.9) (12.1)10. Should an AIDS patient be isolated 27 42(56.7) 5 - 70(94.5 4 0.000 signi-(36.9) (6.3) (5.4) ficantAttitude regarding HIV/AIDS amongst the senior secondary school teachers (Pre and post IEC intervention)Pre -IEC Post -IECS. Questioo No. of res- Yes No Not atte- Yes No Not atte- Pvalue Signi-No. pondent! mpted mpted cance1. Does mY/AIDS 74 40 33(44.5) I 41(55.4) 33(44.5) - 1.000 not sign-concern you ? (54.0) ( 1.3) ifieant2. Is it proper for us to speak 74 69 - 5 74 - - 1.000 not sign.about mY/AIDS to school (93.2) (6.7) meantchildren.NOTE:Figures in parentheses indicate percentage.Not attempted were excluded from the analysisI~ The Indian Journal of Community Health/________________________________ 47Fig. 1: How will you react if you meet HIV/AIDS patient- Pre and post intervention results63.552.7-31.0 rI•--_.. --_.- 8.1--- -- - . - -- . 0.- -- .- -- . . . _. ._-~5.42.70.0 0.0Percent50302010oRender Help Sympathetic Do not know IndifferentPre lEe 0 Post lEeNot attemptedFig. 11:Whom do you think is in a better position to give Family Life Style Educationto school children - Pre and post intervention resultspercent47.2 -44.5- - - _ .. __..- -35.131.028;2-_.-6.7- . ~._-. -- ---4.0.... 1.3 0.04010Teacher Doctor Socialworker Parents Friends~ Pre lEG 0 Post lEG_____ ----------- u eD 01. 9 No.2 May - August 1997----------------------------- 48REFERENCES:1. WHO AIDS Series (10). School Health Education toprevent AIDS and sexually transmitted disease.1992,(1).2. Srivastava, V.K., Nirupam, S. et aI., AIDS awarenessamongst school teachers in rural areas of India, AsiaPacificJ of Public Health 1992-93, vol. 6 no. 1,16-17.3. Herbert, L., Friedman, et. aI., Adolescent reproductivehealth - an approach to planning health, WHO, 1983.4. Kipp W, Kwered, EM and Mpuga, H., AIDS awarenessamong students and teachers in primary and second-ary schools in Kabarole district, Uganda; "TropicalDoctor, Jan. 1992;22,26-27.5. Oz ,S., Attitude towards Family Life Education - a surveyof Israeli-Arab teachers, Adolescence ,1991;26 899-912.6. Oladepo, 0 ., Akintayo, Secondary school teachersviewpo"int on s~x education, JR Soc health, 1991, Dec111(6)216-20.7. Farghaly, A.G., Kamal, M.M., Study of the opinion andlevel of knowledge about AIDS problem among sec-ondary school teachers in Alexandaria, Egypt PublicHealth,1991,66(1-2),209-25.8. Rinehart, W., AIDS education - a beginning, Populationreports ,The John Hopkins University, Baltimore, USA1989 series L no. 8, I - 2.ON THE GLORIOUS OCCASION OFINDIA'SCELEBRATING50YEARSOFINDEPENDENCEIIDEEBUILDING A HEALTHIER TOMORROWSHARAD MEDICAL STORE(Distributor for Nothern India)--- - - - - - - - - - - - -- - - IJ e l l 9

Aids Awareness, Knowledge And Attitude Amongst The Senior Secondary School Teachers In East Delhi Schools

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Indian Journal of Community Health