Aids prevention

condom use and perceptions among college students

Abstract

Study design: Analytical survey. 1) To get knowledge on college students’ perceptions and behavior concerning condom use for AIDS prevention; 2) to provide subsides for planning educational interventions. 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 São Paulo, Brazil integrated a convenient sample. Results: Seven hundred and eleven college students compounded the sample presenting the following characteristics: 43.0% were male students and 57.0%, female ones with ages varying from 17 to 32 years; 65.4% of the males and 43.9% 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. An increment in the number of researches on social and cultural components associated to risk behaviors regarding AIDS/HIV infection is mandatory in order to guide the planning for further educational interventions aimed to control AIDS/HIV epidemic.