effect of health education on HIV knowledge and attitude of medical students

In Egypt HIV prevalence ranges from 0.03% among the general population to 2% among people with high risk behaviors. In fact, the presence of high risk behaviors as injectable drugs in addition to the increased number of people requiring multiple transfusions may be additional risk factors. The current study was conducted to assess knowledge of medical students about HIV/AIDS and their attitudes toward patients living with HIV/AIDS [PLHIV] and to evaluate the effect of an educational intervention in changing their knowledge and attitude towards HIV/AIDS and PLHIV. The study was conducted at Al-Azhar Faculty of Medicine, Damietta Branch among students of the clinical stage [fourth, fifth and sixth academic years] and house officers. A questionnaire sheet was used for data collection before and after health education intervention. The majority of the students reported satisfactory knowledge about HIV but many misconceptions were reported regarding methods of transmission and prevention. Unfavorable attitude was reported among the majority of the studied sample towards HIV infected patients. The health education had positive effect towards' knowledge and attitudes of medical students as regard HIV infection

Pattern of substance dependence in a sample of Egyptian addicts

A sample of 128 addicts, fulfilling the criteria of Diagnostic and Statistical Manual Version IV [DSM IV], was selected for this study. Data were collected using a pre-designed questionnaire including sociodemographic data, pattern of drug abuse and history of previous treatment. Most of addicts came from urban residence. The mean age of the studied addicts was 25.36 years, 75% were single and 40.88% had a positive family history of addiction. The age of starting addiction ranged from 15 to 20 years among 42.19% of the studied group. The study showed the predominance of nicotine, pharmaceutical drugs and bangoherbal cannabis] as the main drugs of dependence among the studied group compared with heroin, which predominated in the 1980s and the early 1990s. The main source of drugs was friends [64.06%] and 75% of the addicts used drugs secretly outside home. Among the 64.06%, there was no previous history of treatment and the majority of the cases were referred for treatment by their relatives [68.75%]