Human Immunodeficiency Virus Awareness Among First-Year Medical Students at the Puerto Rican School of Medicine: A...

Introduction Human immunodeficiency virus (HIV) remains a pressing global public health challenge, particularly in Puerto Rico, where prevalence rates outpace most U.S. jurisdictions. Despite advances in antiretroviral therapy (ART) and the availability of biomedical prevention strategies, such as pre-exposure prophylaxis (PrEP) and the Undetectable = Untransmittable (U=U) campaign, gaps in local knowledge persist among future healthcare providers. Methods A cross-sectional study was conducted at San Juan Bautista School of Medicine, Caguas, Puerto Rico, among first-year medical students. Participants completed a three-part anonymous online survey via REDCap, capturing demographics, general HIV knowledge using the validated HIV-KQ-18, and awareness of recent prevention concepts. Descriptive statistics were used to summarize sociodemographic variables and HIV knowledge. Sociodemographic predictors of HIV knowledge were selected using the Least Absolute Shrinkage and Selection Operator (LASSO) regression. Results Eighty-two students participated, with a mean age of 23.4 years and 59.8% female. The mean HIV-KQ-18 score was 14.5 out of 18, reflecting moderate knowledge. Key deficits included awareness of PrEP (40.2% answered correctly) and understanding of the U=U campaign (53.7% answered correctly). Sociodemographic predictors of HIV knowledge included political views, gender, highest education level before beginning the MD program, location raised, religious beliefs, family household income, and living status. Conclusions Significant gaps in HIV prevention and transmission knowledge were identified among first-year medical students in Puerto Rico, underscoring a need for enhanced, culturally responsive educational initiatives focused on biomedical prevention and combating misinformation. These findings should inform targeted curricular reforms and public health outreach in similar high-prevalence regions.