A survey of awareness and attitude among Kurdistan's students towards AIDS in the year 2020.

Introduction: Prevention of acquired immune deficiency syndrome (AIDS) requires proper awareness and attitude towards the disease, and ways of transmission and prevention. This study aimed to investigate the awareness and attitude of students at Kurdistan University of Medical Sciences and University of Kurdistan towards AIDS in 2020. Material and methods: This was cross-sectional, descriptive-analytical study. The study population was students at Kurdistan University of Medical Sciences (MUK) and University of Kurdistan (UOK) in 2020. 369 students were selected based on relative sampling. Data collection tool was international AIDS questionnaire (IAQ). Independent t-test and analysis of variance were applied for analysis. Results: The total IAQ score among students of MUK (75.38 ± 7.66) was higher than that of UOK students (71.17 ± 8.52) (p = 0.023). Although the total score in men (74.04 ± 8.14) was slightly higher than women (72.71 ± 8.50), there was no significant difference (p = 0.13). The difference in the scores of students living in single house with students living with their parents (p = 0.002) and students living in dormitories (p = 0.006) was statistically significant. The average score of undergraduates was the lowest, and doctorates the highest (p = 0.035). Conclusions: In light of the need to increase the awareness of ways of AIDS transmission, and appropriate attitudes towards people living with HIV/AIDS, with a focus on non-medical students, schemes should be designed and implemented to raise awareness and attitudes among people. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]