Survey finds AIDS awareness still low (09/23/2002)
The public in big cities and small towns in China know shockingly
little about the rapidity of the spread of HIV/AIDS in their country,
a recent survey has shown.
The survey, conducted by European Future Group and Horizon Research
among 6,835 adults in selected cities and towns across the country,
found that less than 30 per cent of the people surveyed know how
to protect themselves from AIDS.
The cities of Beijing, Shanghai, Guangzhou, Wuhan and Chengdu,
as well as some small towns in the provinces of Central China's
Hubei and East China's Jiangsu were covered in the survey.
Latest statistics from the Ministry of Health say that by June
2002, about 850,000 people in China had been infected with HIV.
The figure is expected to increase by 300,000 by 2006.
The survey took a random sampling of adults with various educational
backgrounds, ranging from the illiterate to post graduates.
The survey shows that although more than 93 per cent and 82 per
cent residents in big cities and small towns respectively have heard
of AIDS, they are not clear on how it is transmitted or how to protect
themselves.
And further analysis shows that residents in big cities know more
about AIDS and are more active than those in small towns in using
condoms to protect themselves against HIV infection.
When asked if condoms could protect people from AIDS infection,
only 31.5 per cent of city residents and 23.5 per cent of town residents
answered "yes."
The research showed that people regard contraception as the most
important function of condoms, while only 3 per cent of the respondents
use condoms to protect themselves from sexually-transmitted diseases.
Although some people are aware that AIDS exists in China, they
still pay little attention to the use of condoms as protection against
HIV infection.
"The reason for the lack of knowledge concerning AIDS transmission
and protection is the lack of media propaganda and a fear of AIDS,"
said Cheng Feng, project manager of the China-UK HIV/AIDS Prevention
and Care Project.
The survey reveals that 41 per cent of big city residents and
31 per cent of those in small towns think AIDS patients should be
treated equally.
Furthermore, 68 per cent of big city residents and 63 per cent
of small town residents said they would take care of relatives who
had contracted AIDS.
Respondents supposed that people's attitudes towards relatives
who had contracted AIDS would depend on the way that they got infected.
Relatives would care for a patient who was ill due to a blood transfusion.
But if a family member got the disease from illegal sexual activity,
the relatives would feel angry and insulted.
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