Knowledge, Attitudes, and Practice Around HIV/AIDS and other STIs Among Syrians: A Cross-Sectional Study

Authors

  • Hidar Alibrahim Faculty of Medicine, Aleppo university, Aleppo , Syria
  • Sarya Swed
  • Haidara Bohsas
  • Khaled Albakri
  • Bisher Sawaf
  • Mohamed Elsayed

DOI:

https://doi.org/10.5195/ijms.2022.1785

Keywords:

HIV/AIDS, STIs, Awareness, Syria

Abstract

Background:  Over 1 million new Sexual transmitted disease (STIs) are acquired daily throughout the globe, according to WHO data, with the majority of cases being asymptomatic. In Syria, statistics on STI awareness, attitude, and practice are few, and there is little information on Syrians' sexual and reproductive health concerns. The present research aims to determine which individuals factors best predict knowledge, attitudes, and behaviours about HIV/AIDS and other STIs in a Syrian population.

 

Method: In the Syrian governorates between August 15 and September 16, 2022, a descriptive community-based cross-sectional survey was carried out. Syrian nationality, male or female, aged at least 18 years, citizen of any Syrian governorate, and willingness to engage in the survey were the study's inclusion criteria. Based on a previous study, a modified online semi-structured questionnaire was made on Google Form and used to collect the data. The questionnaire was divided into five main section that socio-demographic information, knowledge and practice relating STIs, knowledge and practice relating HIV/AIDS, attitude toward HIV/AIDS and attitude toward STIs.

 

Results: The research involved 1076 individuals in total. More over half (55%) of them were women, with the majority (86%) of them being between the ages of 18 and 30. Only 739 respondents (67%) were aware of voluntary counselling and testing (VCT), and only 35% were aware of the means by which HIV infection may be prevented. The most often mentioned AIDS/HIV-related statistic was that those who have several sex partners have a greater chance of contracting HIV (92%). Furthermore, just 66% and 44%, respectively, of respondents knew how STDs are transmitted. In general, individuals' understanding of STDs was rated at 56%. Furthermore, 50% of the individuals had a positive attitude about the STD information. We used a logistic model to tease out the role of demographics and found that men were 1.43 times more likely to be aware of AIDS/HIV than women were. Additionally, residents of cities were 1.42 times more likely than residents of rural areas to be knowledgeable about STDs.

 

Conclusion: According to this research, Syrians' knowledge, attitudes, and behaviors about STIs, HIV, and other diseases were generally insufficient. This provides definitive evidence that HIV programmes need to verify that Syrian people have access to basic information about HIV/AIDS and other STIs. As a result, the health organizations should conduct both international and local helpful interventions in order to address this medical problem and enhance the awareness of the Syrian community about HIV/AIDS and other STIs illnesses as soon as possible.

Metrics

Metrics Loading ...

Downloads

Published

2022-12-31 — Updated on 2023-02-21

Versions

How to Cite

Alibrahim, H., Swed, S., Bohsas, H., Albakri, K., Sawaf, B., & Elsayed, M. (2023). Knowledge, Attitudes, and Practice Around HIV/AIDS and other STIs Among Syrians: A Cross-Sectional Study. International Journal of Medical Students, 10, S209. https://doi.org/10.5195/ijms.2022.1785 (Original work published December 31, 2022)

Issue

Vol 10 (2022): Supplement 1

Section

Abstracts of the WCMSR

Categories

License

Copyright (c) 2022 Hidar Alibrahim, Sarya Swed, Haidara Bohsas, Khaled Albakri, Bisher Sawaf, Mohamed Elsayed

Creative Commons License

This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International License.

  1. The Author retains copyright in the Work, where the term “Work” shall include all digital objects that may result in subsequent electronic publication or distribution.
  2. Upon acceptance of the Work, the author shall grant to the Publisher the right of first publication of the Work.
  3. The Author shall grant to the Publisher and its agents the nonexclusive perpetual right and license to publish, archive, and make accessible the Work in whole or in part in all forms of media now or hereafter known under a Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International License or its equivalent, which, for the avoidance of doubt, allows others to copy, distribute, and transmit the Work under the following conditions:
    1. Attribution—other users must attribute the Work in the manner specified by the author as indicated on the journal Web site; with the understanding that the above condition can be waived with permission from the Author and that where the Work or any of its elements is in the public domain under applicable law, that status is in no way affected by the license.
    2. The Author is able to enter into separate, additional contractual arrangements for the nonexclusive distribution of the journal's published version of the Work (e.g., post it to an institutional repository or publish it in a book), as long as there is provided in the document an acknowledgment of its initial publication in this journal.
    3. Authors are permitted and encouraged to post online a prepublication manuscript (but not the Publisher’s final formatted PDF version of the Work) in institutional repositories or on their Websites prior to and during the submission process, as it can lead to productive exchanges, as well as earlier and greater citation of published work. Any such posting made before acceptance and publication of the Work shall be updated upon publication to include a reference to the Publisher-assigned DOI (Digital Object Identifier) and a link to the online abstract for the final published Work in the Journal.
    4. Upon Publisher’s request, the Author agrees to furnish promptly to Publisher, at the Author’s own expense, written evidence of the permissions, licenses, and consents for use of third-party material included within the Work, except as determined by Publisher to be covered by the principles of Fair Use.
    5. The Author represents and warrants that:
      1. the Work is the Author’s original work;
      2. the Author has not transferred, and will not transfer, exclusive rights in the Work to any third party;
      3. the Work is not pending review or under consideration by another publisher;
      4. the Work has not previously been published;
      5. the Work contains no misrepresentation or infringement of the Work or property of other authors or third parties; and
      6. the Work contains no libel, invasion of privacy, or other unlawful matter.
    6. The Author agrees to indemnify and hold Publisher harmless from the Author’s breach of the representations and warranties contained in Paragraph 6 above, as well as any claim or proceeding relating to Publisher’s use and publication of any content contained in the Work, including third-party content.

Enforcement of copyright

The IJMS takes the protection of copyright very seriously.

If the IJMS discovers that you have used its copyright materials in contravention of the license above, the IJMS may bring legal proceedings against you seeking reparation and an injunction to stop you using those materials. You could also be ordered to pay legal costs.

If you become aware of any use of the IJMS' copyright materials that contravenes or may contravene the license above, please report this by email to contact@ijms.org

 

Infringing material

If you become aware of any material on the website that you believe infringes your or any other person's copyright, please report this by email to contact@ijms.org

Most read articles by the same author(s)

1 2 3 > >>