Vietnam Population and AIDS Indicator Survey 2005 ... - Measure DHS

YOUTH AND HIV/AIDS 7
7.1 KEY FINDINGS
• Knowledge of AIDS varies dramatically by education.
• Nineteen percent of youth age 15-24 have ever had sex.
• Almost no never-married young women reported ever having had sex.
• Only four percent of never-married young men reported ever having had sex.
• Twenty percent of young men used a condom the first time they had sex.
7.2 INTRODUCTION
Promoting safe sexual behavior is a key feature of many HIV/AIDS prevention programs. Those
who are not yet sexually active or those who have recently made their sexual debut are considered
potentially accepting of programs that seek to educate their audience to make informed behavioral
choices. Thus, this chapter focuses on the knowledge of HIV prevention and transmission among young
women and men age 15-24 and the sexual behaviors that affect their risk of exposure to HIV. Youths
aged 15-24 are of particular interest because the period between initiation of sexual activity and marriage
is often a time of sexual experimentation, and may also involve risky behaviors.
7.3 HIV/AIDS-RELATED KNOWLEDGE AMONG YOUTH
Knowledge of the means of transmission of HIV is crucial in enabling people to protect
themselves. Avoiding HIV is especially important for young people, who are often at greater risk because
they may have shorter relationships with more partners or engage in other risky behaviours, such as
experimenting with drug use. Young respondents were asked the same set of questions as older
respondents to determine their level of knowledge about HIV/AIDS.
The data in Table 7.1 show the level of comprehensive knowledge among young people, namely,
the proportion who, in response to a prompted question, agree that people can reduce their chances of
getting the AIDS virus by having sex with only one uninfected, faithful partner and by using condoms
consistently; who know that a healthy-looking person can have the AIDS virus; and who know that HIV
cannot be transmitted by mosquito bites or by sharing food with a person who has AIDS (the two most
common misconceptions).
Forty-two percent of young women and 50 percent of young men have comprehensive knowledge
about HIV/AIDS. Comprehensive knowledge is higher among urban youths than rural youths (Figure
7.1). Knowledge increases dramatically with increasing education and also increases greatly and steadily
with increasing wealth status. Young women and men who have ever been married are somewhat less
likely to have comprehensive knowledge about HIV/AIDS than never-married youths.
Youth and HIV/AIDS | 67