A Cross Sectional Study to Evaluate Knowledge and Attitude towards HIV Infection in Rural Population

Human immunodeficiency virus (HIV)/acquired immunodeficiency syndrome (AIDS) is a major and one of the most serious public health challenges in today’s world. The present study was conducted to assess knowledge and attitude regarding HIV in rural population. Methods: The present cross sectional study was conducted by involving 960 rural population of both genders. Study participant should be more than 15 years of age and resident of the same village was used as inclusion criteria. General information such as name, age, gender etc. was recorded. A questionnaire was prepared which were related to knowledge and attitude of rural population regarding HIV. Respondents were instructed to respond in yes or no. Results: Out of 960 subjects 620 were aware of HIV/AIDS, 680 were aware of VCCT, 650 were aware of VCCT centre, 830 had heard of condom and 760 were aware of ARV. The difference was significant (P< 0.05). Conclusion: Authors found that respondents had sufficient knowledge and attitude regarding HIV infection.

Determination of Stress Factors in General Population

Stress is an important reference point in health studies and it is related to both an individual's general health status and different illnesses, including mental disorders, cancer, cardiovascular disease, drug abuse, chronic diseases, etc. Hence; under the light of above mentioned data, the present study was planned to assess various determinants of stress factors among general population. Methods: A total of 200 subjects were included in the present study. A selfframed questionnaire was given to all the subjects for obtaining complete demographic and clinical details of all the subjects. Second part of the questionnaire included assessment of information in relation stress related personal life parameters. The Nordic Questionnaire for Psychological and Social Factors at Work (QPS Nordic) in order to assess perceived stress was given to all subjects and asked to respond. All the answers were graded into three categories as follows: Category A: None or minimal stress, Category B: Stress to some extent, and Category C: Very much stress. All the results were recorded in Microsoft excel sheet and were analyzed by SPSS software. Results: Among subjects less than 30 years of age, 25 subjects had category B stress, while 20 subjects had category C stress. Significant results were obtained while assessing the distribution of stress among males and females. Also significant results were obtained while assessing the distribution of stress among employed people. Conclusion: Stress is particularly common in employed subjects, especially males.