Knowledge on transmission and prevention of HIV infection in immigrants

At the Department of Health Sciences, since 1995, works a low-threshold outpatients' unit for immigrants who are not enrolled into the National Health Service (NHS). Beside carrying out diagnostic tests, a task of education and information on the guidelines for the prevention of the transmission of HIV is being performed. During this kind of process, the use of a questionnaire allows us to evaluate both the personal data and the knowledge on AIDS and HIV. Since the beginning of April 1995 and up to the 31st of December 1998, 1892 questionnaires, concerning people over 15 years and coming from 73 countries from all over the world, have been collected. Ninety-four percent of subjects declared to know AIDS/SIDA; only 27.6% of the whole population could distinguish between HIV seropositivity and AIDS. As regards to the question on the possible routes of transmission the right answers were 63.7%. On the question on the possible means of prevention, 46.3% answered wrongly or didn't answer at all, only 53.7% answered rightly both to the sexual route of transmission and the parenteral one. These results emphasize the importance to continue programs of health education and information aimed at the difference between AIDS and HIV seropositivity and at a better knowledge of preventive strategies.