One in ten women has no knowledge of HIV prevention

One in ten women has no knowledge of HIV prevention – survey

Dec 16, 2008 News

The Multiple Indicator Cluster Survey (MICS) which was conducted by the United Nations Children’s Fund (UNICEF) in collaboration with the Bureau of Statistics has found that one woman in ten does not have any knowledge of the three main ways to contract HIV.
The survey noted that women between the ages of 15 and 49 were asked whether they knew of the three main ways of HIV prevention — having only one, faithful, uninfected partner; using a condom correctly every time, and abstaining from sex.
According to the survey, 95 percent of the women interviewed in Guyana have heard of AIDS, yet only 55 percent know all three ways of preventing HIV transmission; while 91 percent know at least one of the ways. Abstaining from sex is the least known way compared to the other two main ways.
However, the survey also found that the knowledge of all three ways is much more prevalent in Region Four and Region Ten than in the other regional groupings. In these regions, between 46 and 48 percent of women are knowledgeable.
Additionally, women living in the urban areas are better informed about HIV prevention than those living in the rural areas.
The survey noted that among Guyanese women, knowledge of the main ways of preventing the transmission of HIV increases with their educational level and their household wealth respectively. It was explained in the survey that the proportion of women of the poorest quintile who do not know any main means is approximately five times that of the corresponding proportion of the women in the richest quintile.
Meanwhile, as it relates to ethnicity, the survey found that five times as many Amerindians and twice as many East Indians do not know of any of the three main ways of preventing transmission, when compared to Africans.
MICS also noted that 61 percent of the women interviewed rejected the two most common misconceptions about HIV and know that a healthy looking person can be infected with the virus.
Also, 79 percent of women know that HIV cannot be transmitted by sharing food, and know that the virus cannot be transmitted by mosquito bites.
It was explained in the survey that the highest proportion of women with comprehensive knowledge of HIV was found among those between the ages of 20 and 24 years, which amounts to 53 percent, while the lowest proportion was found among those between the ages of 35 and 39, which amounts to 45 percent.

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One in ten women has no knowledge of HIV prevention – survey

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