KNOWLEDGE, ATTITUDES AND BELIEFS OF HIV/AIDS AMONG NATIONAL OPEN UNIVERSITY UNDERGRADUATE STUDENTS

KNOWLEDGE, ATTITUDES AND BELIEFS OF HIV/AIDS AMONG NATIONAL OPEN UNIVERSITY UNDERGRADUATE STUDENTS

CHAPTER ONE: INTRODUCTION

1.1     Background of Study

Acquired immunodeficiency syndrome (AIDS) is one of the most complex health problems of the 21st century (Tumer & Unal, 2000). The AIDS epidemic is in its 3rd decade and has become a pandemic disease that threatens the world population (AIDS epidemic update 2003). Moreover, it continues to spread at an alarming rate Tavoosi (2004). Human immunodeficiency virus (HIV) is present in the blood and body fluids of infected individuals, whether symptomatic or asymptomatic. The main modes of transmission are sexual contact, exposure to infected blood or blood products and perinatal transmission (Guidelines for HIV infection control: technical review, 2005).

According to Pisani (1998), in the absence of a vaccine or cure for HIV/AIDS, public health education is still the best means of combating the pandemic. Public understanding of the virus is growing but many behavioural aspects of the epidemic remain incompletely documented and poorly understood. The impact of prevention programmes on behaviour remains uncertain because they frequently lack complementary information on changes in behaviour or because behavioural data are not collected or are incomplete.

However, Human immune virus infects cells of the immune system which result in the progressive deterioration of the immune system, breaking down the body’s ability to fend off some infections and other diseases (WHO, 2017). AIDS (Acquired immune deficiency syndrome) refers to the most advanced stages of HIV infection, defined by the occurrence of any of more than 20 opportunistic infections or related cancers (Sepkowitz, 2001).

According to Dandona (2005), the first case of Human immune Virus (HIV) was recognized in United States in 1981. HIV/AIDS remains one of the world’s most significant public health challenges, particularly in low and middle-income region. The statisticians from joint United Nations Program on HIV/AIDS (UNAIDS) and WHO estimated that there are approximately 36.7 million people living with HIV at the end of 2016. 34.5 million are adults, 17.8 million women, 16.7 million men, and 2.1 million children below 15 years. People newly infected with HIV in 2016 are 1.8 million of which 1.7 million are adults. Total AIDS death in 2016 was 1.0 million of which 890,000 were adults. Recently due to non-achievement of millennium goals on HIV/AIDS in different countries in the world especially in developing countries, the joint UN program on HIV/AIDS has fixed new objectives to overcome HIV infections by 2030 (Rewari, 2017).

1.2     Statement of the Problem

In many parts of the world, HIV/AIDS has attained the status of pandemic, which means large areas are affected, and HIV/AIDS continues spreading. In this regard, whereas there has been a visible decline of the rate of HIV to AIDS, there has been an increase in the contraction of HIV/AIDS.  Since HIVAIDS is not curable though manageable, prevention remains the only surety for combating it; hence, the motivation for the numerous studies on HIV/AIDS knowledge, attitudes and beliefs among undergraduate students. Therefore, the present investigation is informed by the stated motivation to examine the knowledge, attitudes and belief of HIV/AIDS among national open university undergraduate students in Uyo in the quest for a relief, as far as HIV/AIDS is concerned.

1.3     Aims and Objectives of the Study

The main aims and objectives of this study were to examine the knowledge, attitudes and beliefs of HIV/AIDS among National Open University undergraduate students in Uyo.

Specifically, the study sought to: