a populationbased study into knowledge, attitudes and beliefs (kab) about hiv/aids

Background: it has been reported that three factors may be responsible for the social stigma associated with disease: widespread ignorance, little information and misconceptions about the disease in society. objectives: this study is aimed to assess knowledge, attitudes, and beliefs about hiv/aids in residents of mashhad, the largest city in northeast iran. patients and methods: a cross sectional study was conducted over three days, starting on december 1 2013, since this day was the world’s aids day. each day the investigating group carried out the study in a different crowded place in the city. using a convenience sampling method, members of the public were asked to fill in a questionnaire, which included the world health organization’s instrument for assessing knowledge, attitudes, and beliefs about hiv/aids. the data obtained were evaluated by frequency and percentage ratios, chi-square (x^2), mann-whitney and kruskal-wallis tests, using the significance level p < 0.05. results: three hundred and eighty five individuals participated in this study. the median age was 27 years and the interquartile range was 21 - 45 years. the data analysis showed that most participants had good knowledge in this general domain: 70.2% of the answers in this domain were correct (47.1% in males and 23.1% in females). in general, the respondents’ attitudes toward aids were found to be tolerable and the total score showed significant differences according to educational level (p < 0.001). the majority of the respondents indicated that television, newspapers, magazines, and books were their major sources of information about aids. approximately 80% of participants needed specific information about the disease, with the prevention methods being the most frequently requested information. conclusions: this study showed that we must put more effort in translating knowledge into behavior.