[Health education--knowledge and sources of information about acquired immunodeficiency or AIDS]

Questionnaires were answered by 151 students, 10 to 19 years old, from an elementary, Jr. and Senior-high State School in Florianópolis, State of Santa Catarina-Brazil. The objectives were: to identify information sources; transmission mechanisms; prevention forms and the interest shown by students in acquiring new knowledge on HIV/AIDS. Based on the responses, authors found out that 90.06% of the students had heard about AIDS on TV, 29.13% had been informed about the theme through a teacher. It was also observed that 45.03% would seek for orientation from their parents, and 9.93% from their teachers.