AIDS education: evaluation of school and worksite based presentations

From 1986 through mid-1988, the Westchester County (NY) Health Department made AIDS education presentations upon request to junior and senior high school students and to adult educators and supervisors. In 1987, an evaluation component was added to measure the effectiveness of the presentations in increasing knowledge on AIDS-related topics. Questionnaires were field tested in a pilot study. During 1988, pre- and post-tests were administered 10-14 days before and after each scheduled presentation. Multivariate linear regression on the 847 pre- and 574 post-tests that were returned shows a statistically significant pre-test/post-test difference, controlling for test type, age, and gender, in both overall score (t = 9.00, p less than 0.0001) and in total number of questions answered rather than left blank (t = 6.27, p less than 0.0001). In logistic analyses controlling for test type, age, and gender, the greatest post-test improvements were in questions about differences between AIDS and HIV-related disorders (then called ARC) (adjusted odds ratio, 1.86; 95% confidence limits, 1.65, 2.10); AIDS and drug use (1.73; 1.40, 2.14); sexual practices and AIDS (1.64; 1.40, 1.91); and the definition of AIDS (1.52; 1.29, 1.81). There was also significant post-test improvement on questions dealing with risks in social proximity to persons with AIDS, virus transmission by persons with AIDS, and differences between AIDS and HIV.(ABSTRACT TRUNCATED AT 250 WORDS)