Knowledge, Beliefs and Sources of Information of HIV among Students of a Tertiary Institution in Nigeria.

This study investigated the knowledge, beliefs and sources of information of HIV among students of a tertiary institution in Nigeria. The study was conducted among students of University of Ilorin residing in Oke-Odo community, a student community located near the school. The objective of the study is to know if the students are adequately informed of HIV.A total of 292 students selected through a two-stage sampling method were involved in the study. Information was gathered through questionnaire administration which contained closed and open ended questions.(84.2%) of the participants know that, a healthy looking person can have HIV, (88.7%) know that HIV virus weakens the immune system of an infected person and (82.2%) know that HIV can be transmitted through unprotected vagina sex. Also, (81.2%) identified fever as the symptom of HIV while (77.7%) identified avoiding unprotected sex as preventive measure towards contacting HIV.The highest source of information of HIV among the participants is health talk accounting for (68.2%) which was followed closely by the school (66.4%). Although (63.7%) of the participants strongly disagree that HIV is a myth and does not exist, (36.6%) of the participants also strongly believe that HIV can be cured with prayers. The study showed a statistical significant relationship between knowledge of HIV and age of participants p= 0.001 while n statistical significant relationship was found between knowledge of HIV and sex p= 0.055, marital status p=0.051, religion p= 0.359 and tribe p=0.170.The study concluded that although the participants had a good knowledge of HIV, various misconceptions are held by participants on the belief held about the disease. Dissemination of adequate knowledge on HIV among students in the institution is strongly recommended. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]