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pubmed:otherAbstract |
PIP: In the adjacent regions of Arusha and Kilimanjaro in Tanzania, researchers conducted a quasi-experimental, nested cross-sectional design to evaluate the Ngao (shield) HIV/AIDS education program for public primary school children, a culturally specific program. The baseline survey and the 6-month follow-up survey included 2026 and 1785 6th-7th grade children, respectively. Teachers of the participating schools and health workers participated in a 1-week training workshop before they implemented the program over 2-3 months. Its intent was to reduce the pupils' risk of HIV infection and to improve their acceptance of and care for people with AIDS. At baseline, the pupils in intervention and comparison schools tended to be comparable. At follow-up, however, intervention pupils had been exposed to more AIDS information (scores, 13.1 vs. 10.5), had discussed AIDS more often (10.9 vs. 7.8), and had a higher increase in AIDS knowledge (14.5 vs. 11.5) than did the comparison pupils (p = .0001 for all the above). They also had significantly more positive attitudes towards people with AIDS than the comparison pupils (9 vs. 6.7; p = .0008). Pupils in the intervention had more restrictive subjective norms regarding sexual intercourse (45.5 vs. 43.8; p = .011) and less intention to engage in sexual intercourse over the next 3 months than at baseline. Yet, they were not significantly different from comparison pupils, because the comparison pupils also had a change in attitude. These findings show that teachers in primary schools and health educators can implement a workable and effective HIV/AIDS education program for school children.
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