Trends and Factors Associated with Comprehensive Knowledge about HIV among Women in Vietnam

Abstract

This study aimed to assess the trends and associated factors of comprehensive knowledge about HIV among women in Vietnam using the dataset of the Vietnam Multiple Indicator Cluster Surveys (MICSs) in 2000, 2006, 2011, and 2014. The outcome variable was comprehensive knowledge about HIV, defined as the ability to correctly answer three knowledge questions and to reject the three most common misconceptions about HIV prevention. We found that comprehensive knowledge about HIV increased from 26.1% in 2000 to 44.1% in 2011, but it decreased slightly between 2011 and 2014, from 44.1% to 42.4%. Increased comprehensive knowledge about HIV was associated with women who had higher education and those in the fourth and fifth quintiles of household wealth in all four rounds of the MICS. Comprehensive knowledge about HIV among women was also associated with those who had ever been tested for HIV and those with knowledge of where to be tested for HIV. Women in the urban areas were more likely to have higher levels of comprehensive knowledge about HIV as compared to the women in the rural areas in 2000, 2006, and 2011 but not in 2014. Comprehensive knowledge about HIV among women in Vietnam increased from 2000 to 2014, but it was still relatively low.

Misconceptions and stigma against people living with HIV/AIDS: a cross-sectional study from the 2017 Indonesia Demographic and Health Survey

“…In Ethiopia, only 25.2% of women had a comprehensive knowledge of HIV/AIDS (95% confidence interval [CI], 24.5 to 25.9) [ 5 ]. The corresponding rate was less than 50% in Vietnam [ 6 ] and Yemen [ 7 ]. In Indonesia, only 15% of women and 16% of married men had a comprehensive knowledge of HIV transmission and prevention [ 8 ].…”

A Scoping Review of Knowledge, Awareness, Perceptions, Attitudes, and Risky Behaviors of Sexually Transmitted Infections in Southeast Asia

“…Most of the studies also show higher levels of knowledge, awareness, attitude, and perception among those with a higher education ( n = 12), akin with higher socioeconomic status [ 2 , 9 ]. It is claimed that individuals with a higher education level (regardless of their cohorts) are better in accurately reading, processing, and understanding written and verbal information from sources such as newspapers, magazines, health pamphlets etc.…”

“…Furthermore, such individuals are more exposed to social media and are more adept in seeking information related to STIs, unlike those with a lower education level. Being in a higher socioeconomic stratum also indicates that such individuals have means to own/access media such as technology devices (smartphones, computer, tablets), Internet access and/or televisions, and thus have better access to educational programmes pertaining to STIs [ 1 , 2 , 35 ].…”

“…Higher education and socioeconomic status can be linked to living area as well, with the majority of studies reporting a higher level of knowledge, awareness, attitude, and perception among urbanites [ 2 , 27 ] as opposed to those living in rural areas [ 39 ]. Individuals living in urban areas are known to have better access to information through the Internet, healthcare centers, NGOs etc., a notion supported by other studies reporting individuals with better accessibility to medical device and information as having higher levels of knowledge, awareness, attitude, and perception [ 25 , 44 , 46 , 48 , 49 ] than those without [ 39 , 42 ].…”

“…Sexually transmitted infections (STIs) are caused by bacteria, viruses or parasites that spread predominantly through sexual contact including vaginal, anal, and oral sex. However, some of these diseases are known to spread through non-sexual means, such as blood or from mother to child during pregnancy and childbirth [ 1 , 2 , 3 ]. According to the World Health Organization (WHO) [ 4 ], more than 1 million STIs are acquired daily worldwide, with an estimated 374 million new infections of chlamydia, gonorrhea, syphilis, and trichomoniasis in 2020.…”