A Cross-National Comparison of Knowledge and Beliefs about AIDS in CDC Reproductive Health Surveys

Meredith Reynolds, U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC)
S. Afua Appiah-Yeboah, U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC)
Consuelo Beck-Sague, U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC)

For decades the Division of Reproductive Health at CDC has been involved in population-based, household interview Reproductive Health (RH) Surveys in developing countries. These surveys have increasingly incorporated questions on knowledge, attitudes, and beliefs (KAB) regarding HIV transmission and prevention. The HIV/AIDS modules of all of the RH surveys conducted by DRH since 1990, which includes over 20 countries spanning Latin America, the Caribbean, Eastern Europe, and Africa, are outlined. Further, this data is compared and evaluated with respect to the new UNAIDS framework for monitoring and evaluation indicators. The HIV/AIDS modules typically include questions pertaining to source of HIV knowledge; modes and myths of transmission; HIV prevention; identification of high risk groups; and assessment of personal risk. More recent surveys also include questions on voluntary counseling and testing, as well as an assessment of personal behavior changes made in response to risk of HIV acquisition.