Effects of an Education Program for AIDS Prevention on Knowledge and Attitudes Towards AIDS among Male High School Students in Seoul and Gyeonggi Province

Abstract

Purpose: The purpose of this study was to examine the effects of an education program for AIDS prevention on knowledge about AIDS and attitudes towards AIDS/people with AIDS among male-high school students. Methods: A research design used in this study was a randomized and non-synchronized control group pre-and-post test. The participants were 560 male students from five high schools in Seoul and Gyeonggi province. In each school two classes were randomly assigned to each the experimental or control group. The contents of the education program for AIDS prevention consisted of six parts with a total of 50 minutes. The data were analyzed using t-test and chi-square test with SPSS WIN program version 13.0. Results: There were significant differences in knowledge and attitudes between experimental and control groups. The experimental group showed higher scores in knowledge and more positive attitudes than the control group. Conclusion: The education program was effective in increasing positive attitudes towards AIDS/people with AIDS among male high school students. Further application of the program with female students is needed before the results of the study can be generalized.