AIDS related knowledge,attitude and sexual behavior among college freshmen

Objective To examine the status of acquired immunodeficiency syndrome (AIDS) related knowledge,attitude and sexual behaviors among college freshmen for conducting effective health education on AIDS among the students.Methods We conducted a self-administered anonymous questionnaire survey among 1 146 freshmen selected with random cluster sampling from Northeast Forestry University in September 2015 using the Questionnaire on AIDS Related Knowledge for College Students -2014 Edition designed by the Research Group of Health Education on AIDS among College Students in China.Results Of all the students,45.63% considered that AIDS epidemic is serious among their peers,but only 10.5% paid enough attention to the situation;83.82% reported the willingness to make their efforts for AIDS prevention and control.There were 11.00% of the students reporting the history of having sex and more male students reported sexual behavior history than the female students significantly (15.34% vs. 4.76%,P<0.01).The proportion of the students reporting the awareness on the behavior of the men who have sex with men (MSM) among their schoolmates was 11.27% for all the students and the proportion was 13.72% for the male students and 8.79% for the female students.Conclusion Most of the college students recognize that the AIDS epidemic is serious among their peers but they have limited attention on the condition. The tolerance towards the AIDS patients is getting higher among the students.There are more college students,especially more male students,having sexual experience than before.