Demographic and Health Survey 2009-10 - Timor-Leste Ministry of ...

percent of women and 61 percent of men have heard of AIDS. Knowledge is inversely related to age,
rising from 27 percent among women age 40-49 to 53 percent among those age 15-24. This pattern is
true for men with the exception of those age15-24. Knowledge rises from 49 percent among men age
40-49 to 71 percent among men age 25-29 and then falls to 63 percent among the youngest cohort.
Knowledge is higher among never-married than ever-married respondents. Knowledge is twice as
high among urban compared with rural women, with the urban-rural difference among men being
somewhat less substantial. Women in Dili and men in Manatuto are most likely to have heard of
AIDS, and women and men in Ermera are least likely. Knowledge of AIDS increases with level of
education and household wealth for both women and men.
14.1.2 Knowledge of HIV Prevention Methods
The promotion of sexual and reproductive health is necessary for the prevention of HIV
infection. This includes educating the public to adopt specific prevention behaviors, including:
• Abstinence from sexual activity that can transmit infection
• Being faithful to one partner who is also faithful and uninfected
• Consistent condom use
Table 14.2 presents levels of knowledge about the various HIV prevention methods by
background characteristics. Of the prevention methods discussed in the survey, women are most
aware that their risk of getting HIV can be reduced by limiting sex to one uninfected partner who has
no other partners (36 percent). In addition, 26 percent of women mention that abstaining from sexual
intercourse will prevent the transmission of HIV. Among men, the most commonly cited prevention
method also is limiting sex to one uninfected partner who has no other partners (49 percent).
Knowledge of condoms and the role that they can play in preventing the transmission of AIDS is
much more common among men than among women (45 percent versus 30 percent). Fewer men and
women (42 percent and 27 percent, respectively) are also aware that both using condoms and limiting
sex to one uninfected partner can reduce the risk of getting the AIDS virus.
Young women age 15-24 are relatively more knowledgeable of the various modes of
prevention than older women. For instance, 32 percent of women age 15-24 said that using condoms
and limiting sex to one uninfected partner can reduce the risk of HIV infection, compared with only
17 percent of women age 40-49. The relationship between age and knowledge of transmission of HIV
among men is less clear. Knowledge of HIV prevention methods among both women and men is
highest among never-married respondents and lowest among those divorced, separated, or widowed.
Knowledge of HIV prevention methods is consistently higher in urban than in rural areas
among women and men. Education has a positive impact on a respondent’s knowledge of AIDS. For
example, 62 percent of women with more than secondary education know that using condoms and
limiting sexual intercourse to one uninfected partner can reduce a person’s chances of getting HIV,
compared with 8 percent of women with no education. A similar pattern is seen for men, although the
gap in knowledge by education is not as large as that observed for women. Similarly, women and men
living in households in the higher wealth quintiles are more likely than those in the lower wealth
quintiles to be aware of ways to prevent HIV transmission.
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