Current situation and related factors of AIDS discrimination among junior medical students in Jiangxi Province / 中国学校卫生

ABSTRACT

Objective@#To explore the current situation and related factors of AIDS discrimination among junior medical students in Jiangxi Province, so as to provide a reference for effective AIDS anti discrimination intervention measures in medical colleges.@*Methods@#Using a convenience sampling approach, 2 484 medical students were selected from five universities in Jiangxi Province from July to August 2023. An anonymous survey was conducted using a general information questionnaire, a AIDS knowledge questionnaire, and the Chinese version of Zelaya s AIDS Stigma Scale. Independent sample t-tests and analysis of variance were carried out to analyze the level of AIDS discrimination among medical students with different characteristics. Multiple stepwise regression analysis was performed to identify the related factors of AIDS discrimination.@*Results@#The total score of AIDS discrimination among medical students was (2.55±0.67). The dimension with the highest score was fear of contracting the disease (2.89±1.01). The results of the multiple stepwise regression analysis showed that the factors related to AIDS discrimination included gender ( β = -0.17 ), grade ( β =-0.08), being an only child or not ( β =-0.04), whether knowing about AIDS knowledge or not ( β =0.22), willingness to use condoms during sexual activity ( β =0.07), willingness to participate in school sexual health knowledge based activities ( β =0.05) and the perceived importance of selfhealth ( β =0.11) ( P <0.05).@*Conclusions@#AIDS discrimination is prevalent among junior medical students in Jiangxi Province. Efforts should be undertaken to enhance humanistic education and relevant knowledge dissemination among junior medical students to reduce the level of AIDS discrimination.