Knowledge and attitudes about AIDS among North Carolina adults

о > A SPECIAL REPORT SERIES 0V THE N.C. OEPARTMENf OF ENVIRONMENT. HEALTH. AND NATURAL RESOURCES. DIVISION OF STATISTICS AND INFORMATION SERVICES, CENTER FOR HEALTH AND ENVIRONMENTAL STATISTICS, P.O. BOX 27687, RALEIGH, N.C 27611-7687. No. 54 April 1990 KNOWLEDGE AND ATTITUDES ABOUT AIDS AMONG NORTH CAROLINA ADULTS by William D. Kalsbeek, PhD, MPH‘ J. Michael Bowling, MA*23 David H. Jolly, MED, MSPH* ABSTRACT Findings on knowledge and attitudes about AIDS ate presented from a 1987 telephone survey of 600 randomly chosen North Carolina adults. AIDS-related knowledge in this population was found to have been largely obtained through the news media. Furthermore, the displayed level of understanding about transmission of the virus was somewhat higher than knowledge related to some of the common myths about AIDS. The amount of formal education was consistently a strong positive predictor of both types of knowledge. Although AIDS was rarely seen as an immediate, personal threat to these adults, the need for continuing AIDS education, particularly among school age children, was strongly endorsed. Acknowledgements: The survey whose findings are presented in this paper was funded by the Division of Epidemiology, North Carolina Department of Environment, Health, and Natural Resources, and largely conducted by students of Dr. Kalsbeek in BIOS 164 (Introduction to Sample Survey Methods). At the time of the survey the division was part of the Department of Human Resources. The contents of this paper do not necessarily reflect the views or policies of the North Carolina Department of Environment, Health, and Natural Resources. The authors also gratefully recognize Drs. Karl Bauman, Judith Lessler, J. Richard Udry, and Ms. Kathy Kerr for their helpful comments on some issues raised in early drafts of the manuscript. 'School of Public Health, University of North Carolina, Chapel Hill, NC. 2North Carolina Department of Environment, Health, and Natural Resources, Division of Statistics and Information Services, Raleigh, NC. 3North Carolina Department of Environment, Health, and Natural Resources, Division of Epidemiology, Raleigh, NC.