Determinants of HIV/AIDS Knowledge among Women: A Study in Khulna District of Bangladesh

Abstract

Women are utmost vulnerable group to HIV/AIDS on a global scale. Thus understanding the determinants of HIV/AIDS knowledge especially for women is highly essential for achieving the safety of the next generation and sustainable development goal (SDG) (e.g. SDG 3). Considering this aspect our study explored the determinants of HIV/AIDS knowledge for women considering their socio-demographic factors: age, education, occupation, living area, religion etc. A purposive sample of 248 women (above 18 years old) from ward no. 26 of Khulna City Corporation and Angardoha village, Dumuria upazila in Khulna District of Bangladesh was selected for this study. Semi-structured interview schedule was used to collect the required information. Our study revealed that 88.3 percent respondents heard about HIV/AIDS, and 56.9 percent had the specific knowledge (untreatable) of HIV/AIDS. More than half of the women (61.5 percent) knew that condom use reduces the risk of HIV/AIDS. The highest number of the respondents knew that having one sex partner reduces the risk of HIV/AIDS. Results indicated that participant’s education, residence type, monthly family income and expenditure have influence on HIV/AIDS knowledge among women. The HIV/AIDS oriented knowledge of the respondents was associated with the respondents’ religion, residence, marital status and education (p <.05). The level of HIV/AIDS oriented knowledge among women is relatively low and the household socio-demographic determinants are rooted as the delimiting factors.