One-and-a-half decades of HIV/AIDS in Tamil Nadu: how much do patients know now?

Abstract

Tamil Nadu has experienced the impact of HIV/AIDS for one-and-a-half decades and is considered a trailblazer in India in terms of combating the infection. So what are the knowledge levels among 292 HIV patients at Government Hospital for Thoracic Medicine and Christian Medical College? Latent class analysis revealed that it was not adequate. Television and peer contact were found to be most effective as source of knowledge for HIV. Patients who were in contact with health personnel might be expected to have more information but they came out with low scores. Association of knowledge with socio-demographic characteristics revealed that education, occupation, income, place of residence, and age were important predictors. Future information, education and communication programmes need to consider the variation across different socio-demographic groups as a basis for targeting education programmes.