Positive attitudes towards persons living with HIV in North Kosovo: The university students' perspective
| Autor: | Jasmina Stevanovic, Marija Milic, Jelena Dotlic, Desmond Nicholson, Milan Parlic, Katarina Mitic, Dragoslav Lazic, Tatjana Gazibara |
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| Rok vydání: | 2020 |
| Předmět: |
Male
Health Knowledge Attitudes Practice Attitude score Universities Sociology and Political Science Kosovo Human immunodeficiency virus (HIV) Ethnic group Stigma (botany) HIV Infections medicine.disease_cause 03 medical and health sciences 0302 clinical medicine Surveys and Questionnaires medicine Humans 030212 general & internal medicine Students 10. No inequality Optimism 4. Education 030503 health policy & services Health Policy Perspective (graphical) Public Health Environmental and Occupational Health Outcome measures Odds ratio Confidence interval Cross-Sectional Studies Female 0305 other medical science Psychology Social Sciences (miscellaneous) Demography |
| Zdroj: | Health & Social Care in the Community. 29:1100-1114 |
| ISSN: | 1365-2524 0966-0410 |
| Popis: | HIV-related stigma could delay the identification and treatment of persons living with HIV (PLHIV), particularly in regions affected by ethnic conflicts. The aims of this study were to assess attitudes towards PLHIV and examine factors associated with stronger positive attitudes towards PLHIV among university students in the Serbian province of Kosovo. A cross-sectional study was conducted at the University of Pristina temporarily settled in Kosovska Mitrovica during the academic year 2013-2014. A total of 1,017 first- and fourth-year students completed an anonymous questionnaire about socio-demographic characteristics, PLHIV, high-risk groups for acquiring HIV and health behaviour. The main outcome measure was the Attitude Score (ATS), calculated as a sum of points awarded for all attitude-related items. The majority of students (84%) expressed positive attitudes towards PLHIV, while others were indecisive. Most students held negative opinions about persons who use drugs (64%), homosexual persons of both genders (50%) and sex workers (42%). Being female (odds ratio [OR] = 1.49, 95% confidence interval [CI] 1.05-2.09) and older (OR = 1.13, 95% CI 1.03-1.24), not doing paid work while studying (OR = 3.35, 95% CI = 1.63-6.84), studying health-related disciplines (β = -0.113, 95% CI = -0.085 to -2.747), having stronger positive attitudes towards homosexual persons of both genders (OR = 0.77, 95% CI = 0.64-0.94) and not using illicit drugs (β = 2.08, 95% CI = 1.03-4.20) were associated with stronger positive attitudes towards PLHIV. Social inclusion of PLHIV and individuals at high risk for acquiring HIV could help reduce the HIV-related stigma. |
| Databáze: | OpenAIRE |
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