An AIDS education program for Vietnamese women
Flaskerud, J.H.; Nyamathi, A.M.
New York State Journal of Medicine 88(12): 632-637
1988
ISSN/ISBN: 0028-7628 PMID: 3231387 Document Number: 312216
The purpose of this study was to determine the effect of an AIDS education program for Vietnamese women on the knowledge, attitudes, and practices of the participants. The study used a variation on the nonequivalent control group design. The sample (N = 369) consisted of Vietnamese clients who attended the Public Health Foundation Women, Infants, and Children (WIC) program in Los Angeles. Knowledge, attitudes, and practices were measured using a structured pretest and post-test questionnaire. The educational intervention consisted of a didactic slide-tape program delivered by a Vietnamese nurse educator and accompanied by informational and resource brochures. Data were analyzed using the Statistical Package for the Social Sciences. Differences between experimental and control groups on individual items on the questionnaire, and differences in pretest/post-test scores for the experimental group were examined by way of two-tailed t-tests. The Pearson product moment correlation coefficient (r) and chi-square analysis were used to examine the relationship between sociodemographic variables and individual knowledge, attitudes, and practice items. Control and experimental groups did not differ significantly. Significant differences occurred in the experimental group in pretest/post-test items measuring knowledge, attitudes, and practices. Significant gains occurred in knowledge and positive changes occurred in attitudes and intended practices. The most dramatic changes occurred in attitudes and intended changes in practice. The findings demonstrate that a didactic program can result in changes in knowledge levels and also in attitudes and intended behavior.