AIDS study reveals college virus knowledge

The Joint United Nations Program on AIDS states that by the end of 2007, over 33 million people were infected with HIV/AIDS worldwide. Langford et al.’s study, “HIV Knowledge, Attitudes and Practices Among College Students In the United States” takes a critical look at how college students regard the HIV virus. HIV is a virus which weakens a humans immune system. In the long term HIV leads to AIDS which causes death by simple infection. HIV/AIDS became a problem in the early 1980s with approximately 150000 new infections a year in the United States. New infections had fell to 40,000 by the mid-nineties (Langford et al.). These new cases are telling because half of them are in the age range of 13 to 25. These trends changed in the early two thousands. Only two cases were reported in 2000 in college males, but between 2001 and 2003 56 cases were reported. The researchers were concerned about this rise in college HIV cases because of the close proximity of many young people. Studies have already shown that college students often have careless and unsafe sex, especially without condom use. This combined with alcohol and drug use can lead to unsafe and dangerous decisions.

Langford et al.’s study focused on decisions and knowledge students had about HIV/AIDS. The studies goal was to see if students were informed enough to make good decisions to be safe from HIV/AIDS. The study sent out a questionnaire to the student body of a US college asking questions about HIV/AIDS. 650 students responded to the survey. The majority were white females. The responses to the survey were both positive and negative. 98.3% of respondents knew that having one sex partner decreased their risk of getting AIDS. This statistic let researchers know that students were relatively informed about sex practices with multiple partners. Although students knew that multiple partners were dangerous and increased the chance of a STD, 40% of students who had engaged in sexual activity in the last 12 months had done so with multiple partners. This is a surprising statistic because teaching students good practices only is effective if they follow through and act on their knowledge. Additionally, 93% of students knew that using a condom significantly made sex safer, but only 53% of sexually active participants used condoms, and only 33% with every sexual encounter (Langford et al.) This is again an example of students knowing what is best for them sexually, but not acting on it. These actions could be explained by high alcohol consumption or reportedly high marijuana use, both of which can impair judgment.

While students seem well educated about HIV/AIDS, there are some misconceptions which troubled researchers. 14.2% of respondents believed that mosquitoes could transmit HIV/AIDS. 55.1% believed that there were no medicines that could help prevent the transfer of AIDS from mother to child. These misconceptions indicate that students also could learn more. These misconceptions can help plan future education about AIDS to youth.

Overall, this study can help educators exploit popular media and television where most college students get their information on AIDS. If the media takes responsibility they can better educate students and hopefully decrease AIDS in the long run.

This study relates to UNC because UNC is in the same situation as the study describes. Education at UNC needs to be changed so that students actually use condoms if they engage in sex with multiple partners. Students need to take action, not just have knowledge.



Sara Langford, et al. "Hiv Knowledge, Attitudes And Practices Among College Students In The United States." Journal Of Health & Human Services Administration 32.3 (2009): 259-277. Academic Search Complete. Web. 6 Feb. 2012.