Public awareness of AIDS in Singapore

Abstract

Singapore had 52 cases of AIDS as at June 1990. This places Singapore in the low-infection-load group of countries. Constant vigilance is necessary however. The Health education programme against AIDS in Singapore was launched in 1985. This first ever National Survey on public awareness of AIDS was carried out by the Research and Evaluation Department, Ministry of Health HQ, in late 1987, to assess the impact of the programme. It showed the level of knowledge of among Singaporeans to be high and comparable in many areas to that in the USA. The survey however also showed lack of credibility in the knowledge of AIDS among the public in certain important areas. This poses challenges to the public education programme.

PIP: With only 52 cases of human immunodeficiency virus (HIV) diagnosed as of June 1990, Singapore falls into the low infection load group of countries. A national acquired immunodeficiency syndrome (AIDS) prevention campaign was launched in Singapore in 1985, the year the first case of HIV infection was reported. Components of this campaign have included the distribution of 2 million copies of printed material and mass media campaigns conducted in 4 languages. To evaluate the impact of this health education effort, the Ministry of Health's Research and Evaluation Department conducted a survey in 1987 of a representative sample of 3301 Singaporeans. Although 98% of respondents were aware of AIDS, 52% indicated that their knowledge of the disease was minimal. Over 90% were aware of the major risk factors for HIV infection (i.e., sexual relations with an infected partner, sharing unsterilized needles, and maternal-fetal transmission), yet 50% incorrectly believed that the virus could be spread by eating food prepared by HIV-positive individuals or sharing dishes. 19% believed that an AIDS vaccine is available. The most common sources of information about AIDS were newspapers (93%), television (83%), other individuals (51%), magazines (50%), Ministry of Health brochures (38%), and radio (36%). Of concern was the finding that only 27% of parents had discussed AIDS with teenaged children. While only 55% of respondents believed AIDS poses a serious health threat in Singapore at present, 72% believe the problem will become urgent within another 5 years. There was almost 100% support for continued health education in this area. Responses about contact with AIDS patients--59% would refuse to work with an AIDS patient, 55% believed the identifies of HIV-positive persons should be publicized, and 56% blame AIDS patients for their disease--indicate a need for education on the human rights of infected individuals.