Bridging the Gap: Conference Record [Abstract book, International Conference on AIDS (12th: 1998: Geneva, Switzerland)]

12th World AIDS Conference

Abstracts 13516-13520 189

Conclusion: Among youth in school in a high prevalence area like Nyanza
Province, knowledge on STIs is high. Attitudes towards PWAs are non-discriminative and caring. More than half of the youth is sexually active at age 15. Almost
half of the sexually active group ever used condoms. The need for behaviour
change is recognised, but instruments for change poorly known.
S13516 1 Survey of information sources on AIDS/STD in
St. Petersburg students of high schools and colleges
Tatiana Vinogradova. "AIDS, Sex, Health" Society, Saint Petersburg; Pr.
Entusiastov, Russia
Issue: Adolescents are the most vulnerable to HIV/AIDS through the early start
of active sexual life, easy access to illegal drugs and overt propagating, sex
business and drugs in mass media (MM).
Project: By the estimates there are 270 illegal brothels with nearly 8.000 girls
and women at the age of 8-30 working for them. Data of several sociological
studies show that at the age of 16 19.5% of boys and 13% of girls use drugs while
9% of the both are addicted. Given the explosion of AIDS epidemic in Russia in
IDUs the level of knowledge on safer sex and harm reduction is vital to fight AIDS.
Survey was done during and just after the lectures, competitions and seminars
organized at 27 high schools and colleges by asking questions to audience and
during personal interviews. 372 full interviews were recorded just after they were
taken. Questions to audience included issues of safer sex, drug addiction, harm
reduction techniques and the sources of information on AIDS-related issues.
Results: 23% of boys and 7% of girls ever heard on necessity to use special
lubricants in anal sex before the lecture. 14% of respondents knew the necessity
to boil homemade opiate liquid before injecting. None called a teacher, parents or
GP as information source. MM was called a main source of their information on
AIDS, sex and drugs, although correct answers safer anal sex and necessity to
boil injecting liquid were done by 12% of respondents of which 10% received from
the magazine "AIDS, Sex, Health", 2% from Medical newspapers and brochures,
4% from special programs on AIDS on local radio and TV with participation of
medical specialists on AIDS. All of them consider the information they receive
from MM as insufficient, inadequate or broadcast at improper time (day).
Conclusions: The knowledge of school students on AIDS and its prevention
seems to be insufficient to avoid infecting. MM in their majority plays negative role
in fighting the epidemic. Special law regulating propagation of sex and drugs is
vital. Special editions on AIDS prevention should be available to all adolescents.
S13517 Discovering what schools in China are doing to promote
health and using such findings to develop efforts to
prevent HIV/STD infection
Jiang-Ping Sun1, G.-.J YE1, J.T. Jones2, N. Fee3, W. Warren4. 1Institute of
Child & Adolescent Health 38Xue Yuan Road Beijing 1000083, China;
2WHO/HPR/HEP, Geneva, Swetzerland; 3UN AIDS C/O WHO/WPRO, Manila,
Phillipines; 4 CDC/Dash Atlanta, USA
Issue: Young people in China are not believed to initiate sexual intercourse
as early as young people in the Americas, Europe and Africa. Many teachers,
parents and health/education officials are concerned and reluctant to introduce
education about sex and HIV in China's schools. Strategies are needed to develop prevention programmes that can build on existing and accepted efforts to
promote health and address sexuality in China.
Project: In June 1997, workshops were held for school health personnel in
Beijing and Jiangmen city to initiate a "Pilot Project on HIV and STD Prevention As
An Entry Point for the Development of Health-Promoting Schools". The purposes
of the workshop were: 1) to identify questions that might be asked anonymously in
schools to determine the prevalence of sexual and other important risk behaviours
among students, and 2) to obtain information that would be useful in planning
education that helps students acquire the knowledge, attitudes, values and skills
needed to avoid HIV infection.
Results: A questionnaire was developed to survey risk behaviours among
middle school students. Methods were delineated to explain the purpose of the
survey to parents, students, teachers and others; obtain approvals for the survey;
ensure the anonymity of surveyed students/schools; administer questionnaires;
process/analyse data; and report results. To provide information for planning educational interventions, participants: 1) identified what schools in China are already
doing to help students and school staff learn to care for themselves and others,
make decisions and take control over their health, and create social conditions
that enable people to be healthy, 2) described how they perceived such efforts to
be relevant to the prevention of HIV/STD infection, and 3) recommended actions
to enhance the school's capacity to prevent HIV/STD infection.
Lessons Learned: By helping school personnel to discover that schools already implement interventions relevant to the prevention of HIV/STD infection,
they were able to build on such practices and make recommendations for developing school-based interventions addressing: behaviours that prevent HIV/STD
infection among young people; HIV/STD knowledge that students, teachers,
headmasters and parents need; and attitudes, beliefs, values and skills that will

help students prevent HIV/STD infection.

13518 The role of National Commissions for UNESCO in an
expanded and multi-sectorial response to HIV/AIDS:
The Venezuelan experience
Roberto Barraez-D'Lucca. AV PPAL Santa Fe Sur Ed F El Padrino #23 Santa Fe
Sur Caracas1080, Venezuela
Issues: HIV/AIDS interventions promoted from the Venezuelan National Commission for UNESCO.
Project: Given the need to articulate and execute an expanded and multi-sectorial response to the HIV/AIDS epidemic in Venezuela, an intervention from the
National Commission was designed to allow innovative actions from various levels of society to the grassroots and vice versa. An strategy and programme were
executed to promote the emergence of School and community based activities
by both the Associated School Project (PEAU) and UNESCO Clubs. The programme included peer education, training for teachers, intensive use of UNESCO
and UNAIDS educational materials for STD and HIV/AIDS prevention, Human
Rights and figures on the epidemic. It also promoted networking and association
with NGOs as well as participation in World AIDS Day.
Results: In a two year period, a programme on HIV/AIDS was adopted by over
100 schools of the Associated School Project (PEAU-SIDA), two UNESCO Clubsat Zulia and Lara States- initiated preventive education activities and the Secretariat of the National Commission participated in the Intergovernmental Group
devoted to examine and articulate a response to the epidemic in Venezuela.
Lessons Learned: Due to thier composition and place within the States and the
UN System, National Commissions for UNESCO - to be found all over the Third
World- could articulate and promote an expanded and multi-sectorial response to
the HIV/AIDS epidemic.
13519 1 Knowledge of and need for AIDS/STD/safer sex education
among first year medical students in Beijing and
Shanghai
Yuan Gao1 2, Z.Z. Lu3, P.F. Zhao4, S.G. Gu5, R.V. Short2. 'c/- Division of Health
Education, Beijing Medical University, Beijing 100083; 3Beijing Medical
University, Beijing 100083; 4Shanghai Institute of Planned Parenthood
Research, Shanghai; 5China Prevetive Medical Association, Beijing, China;
2Royal Women's Hospital, Melbourne, Australia
Issues: Baseline information needs to be collected prior to designing an adolescent AIDS/STD/Safer Sex peer education program that can be tailored to the
needs of the target population.
Project: A combination of questionnaire surveys, focus group discussions and
in-depth interviews was used to collect baseline information on sexual knowledge,
attitudes and practice of first year medical students at Beijing Medical University
and Shanghai Medical University. A total of 571 students aged 16 to 23 filled in
the questionnaires. Ten focus group discussions and 18 in-depth interviews were
conducted with medical students, university administrative officials in charge of
students, university clinic doctors and senior university officials.
Results: The return rate of the questionnaires was 100%. The results show
that the first year medical students had very little formal education about
AIDS/STDs/Safer Sex, and their knowledge in this area needed to be improved.
They had some misconceptions about AIDS/STDs, which need to be addressed.
Their attitudes towards AIDS patients or HIV carriers were generally harsh. About
1.5% of the surveyed students practiced pre-marital sex (2.3% males and 0.6% females) without using any form of modern contraception. Although the prevalence
of pre-marital sex was low, their attitudes to this behaviour were in general liberal
and tolerant. Over 96% of them thought that AIDS/STD/Safer Sex education was
necessary for them.
Lessons Learned: Not only do the students have insufficient knowledge about
AIDS/STD/Safer Sex and tolerant attitudes towards pre-marital sex., but they
also think they need much more AIDS/STD/Safer Sex education. Therefore, it is
necessary to carry out such an educational program among first year medical
students at these two universities.
S13520 AIDS related knowledge among sex education teachers
in the Czech Republic
Ivo Prochazka1, A. Brzek2, M. Sverakova3. 1Institute of Sexology, Karlovo Nam.
3 2 120 00 Praha 2; 2lnstitute of Sexology, Prague, Prague; 3Czech Society of
Health Promotion, The Czech Republic
Objectives: To assess the knowledge about HIV infection/AIDS among Czech
sex education teachers.
Design: Anonymous, self-administered questionnaire study.
Methods: The knowledge were investigated in the sample of 209 sex education
teachers during their postgraduate training by 20-items questionnaire.
Results: The basic data about the HIV transmission and treatment possibilities
are well-known. The more specific issues are not sufficiently covered. Especially
knowledge about risk of transmission during oral sex, importance of STD in
HIV transmission and "window" existence in HIV antibodies detection are poor.

The fear from other forms of HIV spreading is common and the possible risk is
overestimated. Younger teachers and men had better knowledge in some items.
Conclusions: The study proved the preventive campaigns spread the basic
data about HIV/AIDS. More qualified education of health and preventive professionals is still needed.