THE LEVEL OF KNOWLEDGE, BELIEFS AND PRACTICES AMONG MCNP-ISAP

LGBT STUDENTS IN HIV/AIDS

INTRODUCTION

Acquired immunodeficiency syndrome (AIDS) is considered as chronic critical

condition caused by the human immunodeficiency virus (HIV) which targets the
immune system and weakens people’s defense systems against infections. It is a
sexually transmitted infection that can be spread by contact with infected blood, by
having unprotected sex, from mother to child during pregnancy and childbirth or
breast feeding. The condition continues to threaten the community due to a drastic
increase in the number of cases for the past two years. Statistics shows that in 2016
there were a total of 36.7 million people who were living with HIV and is projected to
rise every year (as reported by WHO, 2017; Peter Mosende, 2015)

Among the vulnerable groups, the highest number of infected individuals include
those who engage in homosexual relationships such as the LGBT community. In
particular, men who are having sex with the same gender accounts for 87% of the
total number of new cases in the year 2010 (Department of Health, 2017). One of the
presumed cause is the lack of understanding and awareness with the disease itself
and how it is being transmitted. Moreover, the stigma that comes along with the
disease resulted to negative attitudes and discrimination (Bradley et al,
2012;Mostafahokkohi et al, 2016; Herel et al, 2002; David Martin, PhD, 2012).

With the foregoing explications, the researchers have investigated the level of
knowledge, beliefs and practices among LGBT students of Medical Colleges of
Northern Philippines and International School of Asia and the Pacific on HIV/AIDS.
The desired outcome of this research is to come up with strategies that would
increase awareness of HIV among students.

METHODS

Research Design

The study is limited to exploring and comprehending the knowledge, practices

and beliefs of the LGBT students of MCNP-ISAP on HIV/AIDS. Hence the
researchers have utilized the descriptive correlational research design to elicit
information on the specified problem.

Respondents of the Study

 A total of 43 respondents participated in the study. The researchers used
snowball sampling to elicit information. Eligible participants were based on the
following criteria: 1.) Bonafide students of MCNP-ISAP, 2.) Who identifies
herself/himself as member of LGBT, and 3.) Who manifest interest in partaking in the
study.

Data Gathering Tool

The research instrument used to gather data and information is a 5-part

questionnaire. The data collection tool consists of 5 sections. The first section
contains the necessary demographics of the participants: age, gender, year level,
religion, school, ethnicity.
The second section consists of standard questionnaires on the sources of
knowledge about HIV/AIDS. The main tool used in the third section of the study is a
standardized questionnaire that was adopted from University of Ibadan, Nigeria and
North Western University of USA.
The fourth and fifth part contains standardized questionnaires that were adopted
from International Planned Parenthood Federation (IPPF) the questions are about the
beliefs and practices that are related to HIV/AIDS.

Data Gathering Procedure

The researchers asked permission to conduct the study through a letter

addressed through the Dean of the concerned department, the Research
Coordinators and to the participants. The instrument used to collect data was the
aforementioned questionnaire. An informed consent was presented prior to the
answering of the questionnaire.

Data Analysis

The data gathered were encoded, coded and statistically processed and
presented in a tabular form using mega stat. To determine the profile of the
respondents in terms of age, gender, and for the Level of knowledge, frequency and
percentage distribution was used.

A raw score of 0 is equivalent to no knowledge, a raw score of 1-2 is equivalent to

poor knowledge, 3-4 raw score is equivalent to average and a raw score of 5 is
equivalent to knowledgeable.
 To determine the relationship among knowledge, beliefs and practices to the
respondents the researchers used Pearson-r. The Pearson r is the most commonly
used measure of correlation. It is used to determine relationship between the profile of
the respondents and to the level of knowledge, beliefs and practices.