Improving HIV/AIDS literacy in Teachers By Easy-to-Read Materials: a Brief Report

Abstract

Background & aim: HIV/AIDS is a major health concern globally. Promoting HIV AIDS literacy for everyone is one of the appropriate and required measures in this regard. The present research aimed to improve HIV/AIDS literacy among male teachers in high schools of Ahvaz. Methods: The present field-trial study was conducted on 200 male teachers of the first and second high schools of Ahvaz. The study population was randomly divided into intervention (n=100) and control (n=100) groups. The Iranian HIV/AIDS Literacy Questionnaire was used to collect data. According to easy-to-read texts and alternative communication tools strategies, HIV/AIDS Literacy intervention was developed. The intervention included developing an educational pamphlet and sending SMS to the intervention group. One month after the intervention, the questionnaire was completed again and analyzed by SPSS software using logistic regression and t-test. Results: The age mean and standard deviation of the participants was 41.60 ± 7.80. At the baseline, the mean and standard deviation of HIV/AIDS literacy was 11.1 ± 3.46 in the intervention group and 9.63 ± 2.54 in the comparison group. After the intervention, the score of HIV/AIDS literacy significantly improved in the intervention group (P<0.001). Only marital status was the significant predictor for HIV/AIDS literacy. Analysis of the Pearson correlation coefficients showed that understanding and search skills have the strongest correlation with HIV/AIDS literacy. Conclusion: Based on the study findings, it was concluded that promoting HIV/AIDS literacy through the use of easily understandable texts and alternative communication tools can prove to be effective. Considering the role of teachers in transferring knowledge and skills to prevent HIV and its transmission, it is suggested to hold regular and continuous training courses for all teachers.

Keywords

• hiv/aids
• health literacy
• education