Efetividade de intervenção educativa no conhecimento sobre prevenção combinada e gestão de risco para HIV/AIDS entre universitários

Abstract

Introduction: After decades of living with HIV/Aids, there are still many challenges, especially those related to preventing the disease among young people, in which the number of cases has risen again globally. In Brazil, the lack of knowledge about safe sex has been considered the main risk factor associated with the spread of infection among young people. Objective: To assess the knowledge of academics about risk management and combined prevention for HIV/AIDS, before and after an educational intervention as well as the influence of sociodemographic factors on this knowledge. Method: This quasi-experimental study was carried out with students from all grades of Medicine, Psychology and Nursing at a University Center in the interior of São Paulo. Data was collected at three different times: before the intervention, immediately after and three months after the intervention, using a questionnaire drawn up according to the National Guidelines for Combined Prevention in HIV/AIDS, using a five-level Likert Scale. The Mann-Whitney and Kruskal-Wallis tests with a multiple comparison test were used to compare the students' knowledge before and after the intervention at a 5% significance level. Results: Before the intervention, university students' highest knowledge of risk management was found among those who were male and identified with the male gender, aged between 25 and 57 and among those who were married/in a stable union. The worst results were for hygiene of the genitals and brushing teeth, not ejaculating internally, circumcision and the use of microbicides as risk reduction strategies. It was also found that, before the intervention, the highest level of knowledge about combined prevention was among university students who were male and identified with the male gender, aged between 25 and 57, and among those who were married/in a stable union and students studying Medicine and Nursing. The significantly less satisfactory results were in relation to the use of lubricant gel to prevent transmission, self-testing and the availability of PrEP. The effects of the educational intervention were observed in the increase in knowledge, especially immediately after the action, both in the combined prevention indicators and for risk management. Three months after the intervention, although, there reduction in the average of the indicators; they were still statistically higher than those before the intervention, considered satisfactory for almost everyone. Conclusions: Health education strategies have to be strengthened in a range of contexts, especially within universities, to enable protagonists to develop contextualized, critical and reflective knowledge on the subject. Moreover, with a view to empowering them to make decisions that can reduce their own risks, as well as preparing them professionally to carry out educational actions aimed at the population.