A comparison of three clinic-based AIDS education programs on female adolescents' knowledge, attitudes, and behavior

Health providers are becoming increasingly aware that adolescents are a population at risk for acquired immune deficiency syndrome (AIDS) and have identified education as essential for prevention. This study evaluates three clinic-based programs designed to determine the effects of education on knowledge and attitudes regarding AIDS and condom acquisition. Seventy-five sexually active females attending adolescent health clinics were randomly assigned to one of three groups: 1) controls (C) receiving no education; 2) education (E) alone consisting of a brief lecture on AIDS: and 3) enhanced education (EE) where the lecture was provided as well as a videotape describing the importance of condom use. All participants completed the AIDS Knowledge Questionnaire-Revised, the AIDS Attitude Survey, a self-report measure of condom use and received a coupon that could be exchanged for free condoms from the hospital pharmacy. A significant effect was found for knowledge, where both E and EE were superior to controls (p less than .001). No statistical differences were noted across groups regarding attitudes or condom acquisition. However, all adolescents in the EE group who reported prior condom use obtained condoms from the pharmacy as compared to the other groups (p less than .05). Our results suggest that educating adolescents in medical settings can improve their knowledge about AIDS. Didactic lectures in combination with videotape presentations on condom use appeared to be the best format for reinforcing an adolescent's existing behavior.