Aids prevention - condom use and perceptions among college students

RESUMO

Study design: analytical survey. Purposes: 1) to get knowledge on college students' perceptions and behavior concerning condom use for AIDS prevention; 2) to provide subsides for planning educational inerventions. Methods: An exploratory study preceded the elaboration of the self-administered questionnaire employed for data collection. College students from three different cities of the State of Säo Paulo, Brazil integrated a convenient sample. Results: Seven hundred and eleven college students compounded the sample presenting the following characteristics 43,0 percent were male students and 57,0 percent, female ones with ages varying from 17 to 32 years; 65,4 percent of the males and 43,9 percent of the females stated having had previous sexual intercourse. Research data disclosed the majority of them as having a reduced or regular risk perception level of getting AIDS/HIV; students of both genders declared their distrust regarding the efficacy of preventive measures. They reported having a low level of confidency condom use and a high level of confidence in a well-known sexual partner as a means for avoiding HIV/AIDS. Conclusion: An increment in the number of researches on social and cultural components associated to risk behaviors regarding AIDS/HIV infection is mandatory in order ot guide the planning for further educational interventions aimed to control AIDS/HIV epidemic