Knowledge, Awareness and Attitudes Related to HIV/AIDS Among Urban and Rural Married Women Belonging to an Ethnic Population of India

Abstract

The present study compares knowledge, awareness and attitudes related to HIV/AIDS between 645 urban and 499 rural women aged between 20-45 years belonging to Rajbanshi ethnic population of North Bengal, India using multi-stage random sampling method. Data related to knowledge, awareness and attitudes related to HIV/AIDS was recorded using a pre-structured questionnaire and open-ended interviews. Data were statistically analysed using chi-square analysis, regression analysis and principal component analysis (PCA) using Statistical Package for Social Sciences (version 16.0) and R (version 4.0.0). Results of PCA analysis showed that significant differences existed in the knowledge, awareness and attitudes related to HIV/AIDS between the rural and urban women (p<0.05). Comprehensive knowledge, awareness and attitudes related to HIV/AIDS were significantly higher among urban women, as compared to rural. Efforts are required by the local bodies, non-governmental agencies and the government to create awareness towards HIV/IDS, especially among the rural population. The comprehensive knowledge gap and misconception must be eradicated in order to reduce the relative risks of disease transmission in community or population level.

Keywords

• hiv/aids
• india
• rajbanshi
• urban
• rural principal component