Knowledge of AIDS risk factors in south Bronx minority college students

Hostos Community College is located in the South Bronx, an epicenter of the AIDS epidemic. The student body is 84% Hispanic and 12% black; Hispanics and blacks account for 70% of AIDS cases among heterosexual adults nationwide and 75% of pediatric cases. We surveyed 1,869 Hostos students to determine their understanding of AIDS risk factors. Respondents' age, English proficiency, time in the college, and time in the United States did not correspond in any consistent way with understanding of risk factors. Sexual intercourse without a condom was recognized as increasing risk by only 69% of all respondents, having a sexual partner who used i.v. drugs 5 years ago by 61%, and having a partner who had a male homosexual relationship 5 years ago by 58%. Only 55% were aware of the risk to the baby if the mother had a partner who used i.v. drugs 5 years earlier. The lack of information observed in college students understates that within the South Bronx as a whole and portends increased heterosexual and pediatric transmission of AIDS. This survey shows that the public health AIDS prevention education program has not yet adequately informed a large segment of the minority population of the South Bronx.