Knowledge and Attitudes Towards HIV/STD Among Indian Adolescents (original) (raw)

Adolescent Health Education in India: Demographic Travails, Contextual Influences and Emerging Health Concerns

In view of multiple socio-cultural changes, and rampant rise in exposure and use of information technology in last few decades, the state of adolescent health is marked by several vulnerabilities in different contexts. In order to develop a comprehensive understanding of issues and concerns of adolescent health education, there is a need to build up a framework that gives due recognition to cultural, social and economic contexts of adolescent lives in India. Against this backdrop, the present paper identifies contextual influences and explicates major concerns related to adolescent health education in India.

Knowledge, beliefs and practices towards HIV/AIDS among adolescents in India: A scoping review protocol

PLOS ONE

Introduction Acquired Immune Deficiency Syndrome (AIDS) is a major health concern among Indian adolescents (10–19 years). Indian adolescents lack adequate knowledge about HIV/AIDS and adopt wrong practices. The present scoping review aims to understand the status of knowledge, beliefs and practices among Indian adolescents about HIV or HIV/AIDS. The present study will also focus on their understanding and the source of knowledge and awareness regarding HIV/AIDS. Methodology The recommendations of Arksey and O’Malley in 2005, Levac et al. in 2010 and The Joanna Briggs Institute Reviewers’ manual in 2015 to conduct a systematic scoping review will be employed. The review questions, eligibility criteria and search strategy for this study will be ensured by the Population, Concept and Context (PCC) strategy. The Preferred Reporting Items for Systemic Reviews and Meta-Analyses extension for Scoping Reviews (PRISMA-ScR) will be used for reporting of this scoping review. The methodological...

Knowledge, Attitude, and Perception of Adolescents Regarding Reproductive Health and Human Immunodeficiency Virus/Acquired Immunodeficiency Syndrome in Rajasthan

Indian journal of child health, 2014

Background: The studies are required to better understand the needs of adolescents and to help policy makers to develop appropriate need-based adolescent reproductive health programs. Objectives: The objective was to assess the awareness among adolescents regarding various reproductive health issues and to assess their attitude and perceptions regarding reproductive health and human immunodeficiency virus/acquired immunodeficiency syndrome (HIV/AIDS). Design: Community-based cross-sectional descriptive study. Participants: 423 adolescents of 11-19 years age group in two rural (219 students) and two urban (204 students) schools. Methodology: The survey used was a 4-part, 52-item self-administered questionnaire eliciting information on knowledge regarding reproductive health and HIV/AIDS. Result: Awareness of all reproductive health matters was suboptimum. Awareness was more in urban adolescents than in rural and in late teens than earlier teens. Overall, majority were aware of legal age of marriage (79%), two child family norm (90%), and birth spacing, disadvantages of early marriage, disfavor female feticide, and felt need for sex education (91%). Condoms were the most commonly known method of contraception among boys (80.15%) and oral pills among girls (60.24%). AIDS was the most well-known sexually transmitted disease (93.38%). Conclusion: Lacunae in awareness of all reproductive health matters suggests that young people's sexual and reproductive health issues need to be further addressed and explored in order to promote safer and responsible sexual behavior.

Progress and challenges in implementing adolescent and school health programmes in India: a rapid review

BMJ Open

ObjectivesTo review the overall planning, implementation and monitoring of adolescent and school health programmes currently implemented in India and determine if they are in alignment with the indicators for achieving universal health coverage for adolescents in India.MethodsA rapid review, with key informant interviews and desk review, was conducted using World Health Organization’s tool for Rapid Assessment of Implementation of Adolescent Health and School Health Programmes. Operational guidelines, reports and relevant publications (surveys, policy briefs and meeting proceedings) related to India’s adolescent and school health programmes were reviewed. Key informant interviews were conducted in New Delhi (India) with senior officials from the health and education departments of the Government of India, representatives from the private health sector and civil society organisations. Data were analysed using World Health Organization’s framework for universal health coverage for ado...

Human Immunodeficiency Virus/Acquired Deficiency Syndrome (HIV/AIDS): Knowledge and Attitude of Adolescents Towards HIV/AIDS In Kashmir Valley

MOJ Biology and Medicine

The present study was an effort to know the knowledge and attitude towards HIV/ AIDS among adolescent students of Kashmir valley. HIV/AIDS is a significant threat to humankind and is more alarming to developing countries, where illiteracy and poverty may contribute towards higher risk for HIV/AIDS. It is important that adolescents should have a good knowledge of HIV/AIDS to prevent its spread. The aim of our study was to examine the level of awareness and attitude to HIV/AIDS among students in Kashmir valley. A descriptive study was conducted over a sample of 400 educated adolescents selected at random from various educational institutions of Kashmir valley. The results obtained in our study reveal that 91% of male students and 93% female students had heard about HIV/AIDS and students considered HIV/AIDS as a fatal disease. Further, the study reveal that adolescents had adequate knowledge of the basic facts about HIV/AIDS, the transmission of HIV and how they can protect themselves. In order to increase the level of awareness, it is recommended that HIV education should be part of curriculum among all levels of education and religious institutions should play crucial role in preventing HIV/AIDS. Mass media or public media campaign cannot only raise the level of knowledge in adolescents but also in general public of the state.

Keywords Adolescent health, Kashmir, knowledge

SAGE, 2021

Background: A human body keeps changing physiologically, biologically, and psychologically from birth to death. There is always a change in all human faculties. But adolescence is a phase earmarked where a human body experiences drastic changes among all these faculties. And any such bodily change carrying baggage of shame, insecurity, stigma, and concealment demands on-time awareness and intervention. Aim: The aim of the study is to understand the knowledge and level of awareness regarding sexual and reproductive health among the school-going adolescents of Kashmir Valley where majority of the population belongs to Muslim conservative culture. Methodology: Due to COVID-19 lockdown, the inability of access to schools and children gave the researcher the opportunity to utilize the alternate places and a total of 550 students from classes 8, 9, and 10 were selected for the purpose. The permission was sought from the respective teachers and then the parents. The sample was a combination of boys and girls, students from both private and government-run schools. The researcher collected the data and it was tabulated systematically and analyzed using Microsoft Excel. P value was evaluated by using an application "P Value: A Statistical Tool" from Play Store. Results and Conclusion: The results depicted that higher the level of class, more the knowledge they had about the matter. Girls had a little knowledge about sexual and reproductive health than boys. This study felt a dire need of educating both parents and adolescent boys and girls regarding sexual health. The shame does not lie in educating the children but in the mishaps that may result due to unawareness about the same.

Adolescent Health in India: Still at Crossroads

Advances in Applied Sociology, 2012

Internationally, Adolescent Reproductive and Sexual Health (ARSH) has become a priority programme approach to help the future generations have a safe, healthy and satisfactory life. India is yet to develop a comprehensive policy on ARSH mainly due to lack of inter-ministerial collaboration, socio-cultural and politico-religious factors, even though evidence from surveys and non-governmental organization projects has corroborated the case for ARSH since late 1980s. Fortunately, recent evidence provided by Sample Registration Survey (SRS) 1999, Census 2001, National Family Health Survey (NFHS)-II and District Level Household Survey (DLHS) 2004 particularly on early marriage, teen pregnancy, anaemia and unmet need for contraception has led GoI to recognize the importance of adolescent health. However, a comprehensive ARSH policy is yet to emerge, since components of adolescent health are being addressed by separate ministries and departments. Adolescent health in India is still in an infant stage and at the risk of infanticide. From "health for the adolescents" to "health with the adolescents", it is still a long way to go.

Awareness and knowledge of HIV/AIDS in school going children of Surat, Gujarat

International Journal Of Community Medicine And Public Health

Background: Adolescents are susceptible to unhealthy practices due to a lack of knowledge and curiosity to try new things. Adolescent age also forms the base for behaviors throughout their lives. This study therefore aimed to understand adolescents’ present knowledge and attitude towards HIV/AIDS. Methods: A questionnaire was created with knowledge and attitude-based questions regarding HIV/AIDS. The questionnaire was embedded in google Forms and was sent via WhatsApp, to collect responses from school going children of age 14 to 18. Ethical permissions and consents were taken and the data collection went on for a week. Results: 2000 children took part in the study, out of that 732 were males and 1268 were females. The mean score of all the participants was calculated to be 68.52% with a standard deviation of 17.18. There was no statistical significance of gender and the mean score of the participants, whereas statistical significance was found for age-wise distribution of mean score...

Knowledge, Perceptions and Attitudes of Youths in India Regarding HIV/AIDS: A Review of Current Literature

International Electronic Journal of …, 2005

The HIV/AIDS pandemic is steadily increasing in severity throughout the developing world. Recently, Southeast Asia has become a rising concern for health care professionals in the field of infectious disease (UNAIDS, 2004). Most of Southeast Asia is experiencing surging prevalence and incidence rates of HIV infection. One particular country of interest is India. India's population has surpassed one billion, making it the world's second most populated country. India's large population exacerbates the problematic scenario of HIV sero-prevalence rates that are increasing throughout the country and region (De Cock & Weiss, 2000; UNAIDS, 2004).