Gender comparisons of HIV knowledge, attitudes, and sources of information among college students in Taiwan

Background: Young adults age 20-29 constitute 40% of the HIV-infected population in Taiwan. College students in Taiwan lack a sufficient knowledge base supporting HIV prevention.

Purposes: (a) to compare HIV/AIDS-related knowledge and attitudes, and sources of HIV/STI information, and (b) to examine the association between sources of HIV/STI information and HIV/AIDS-related knowledge and attitudes between female and male college students in Taiwan.

Significance: The results may contribute to a growing empirical basis for evaluating the current HIV education and developing gender-specific interventions for preventing HIV/STI infection among college students in Taiwan.

Methodology: A comparative survey of 996 students using a questionnaire was conducted.

Results: Females were more knowledgeable than males about transmission, facts, and personal risk. Females had more positive HIV/AIDS attitudes than males, p < .0001. Males were more likely to use the Internet for information than females, OR = 1.53, p = 0.0085. Females were more likely to rely on school teachers as a source of HIV/STI information, OR = 0.63, p = 0.0006. School teachers were the most influential source of HIV-related knowledge and attitudes for females and males. Conclusions: Gender differences in HIV/AIDS knowledge and attitudes should be addressed through discussion of misunderstandings that foment prejudicial views and that conflict with sexual health best practices. School teachers play an important role in HIV/AIDS-related knowledge and need to be leveraged. Maximizing the effectiveness of HIV education in Taiwan may require using a combination of different channels (e.g. TV, Internet, school teachers) to provide health information.