Objective:

The incidence of human immunodeficiency virus (HIV)/Acquired immunodeficiency syndrome (AIDS) is increasing in Turkey. As the first admission point, the level of knowledge of family physicians is important in screening, diagnosis, and early treatment of this disease. We aimed to determine the areas that need to be improved by evaluating the knowledge level of family medicine residents about this topic.

Methods:

This cross-sectional study carried out on family medicine residents who were trained in Training and Education Hospital of Health Sciences University, in Istanbul, Turkey. A 23-item questionnaire included questions about HIV/AIDS and demographics, and 12 questions were 3-point Likert-type questions. Points were collected, and the median value was taken; above-median values were evaluated as knowledge sufficiency (Cronbach’s alfa, 0.72). The statistical significance level of alpha was accepted as p<0.05.

Results:

In the study including a total of 253 participants, 65.6% were female, and the average age was 31.5% When the HIV/AIDS risk groups were examined, they considered the unprotected sexual intercourse as the riskiest groups (99.6%), and the least known were 33.6% of patients with tuberculosis. The most common known route of transmission was through blood and blood products (100%) and sexual transmission route was known also in high rates (98%). There were no participants who thought that infection could be transmitted by the handshaking. A total of 2% of participants believed that transmission was possible via eating utensils (forks, knives); 3.3% via personal items; 3.7% via commonly used items, while 0.8% thought it was possible via toilet. There were no participants who thought that infection could be transmitted by the handshaking. In the total score, 2 points were taken as a minimum, 12 points were taken as the maximum and 8 points were taken as the mean. The percentage of those who scored 8 or more and had sufficient knowledge was 65.2%.

Conclusion:

Family medicine residents have some training needs in the context of prevention, diagnosis, and treatment of HIV/AIDS. Studies on the elimination of an inadequate level of knowledge about it during specialty training and in-service training practices will not only increase the quality of service but also positively affect their approach to individuals with HIV/AIDS and help solving stigma problem.

Keywords: HIV/AIDS, family medicine, knowledge level, stigma, screening