International Journal of Public Health and Epidemiology ISSN 2326-7291 Vol. 12 (4), pp. 001-008, April, 2023. © International Scholars Journals

Full Length Research Paper

Determinants of knowledge and awareness about AIDS: Urban-rural differentials in Bangladesh

Mosiur Rahman

Department of Population Science and Human Resource Development, University of Rajshahi, Rajshahi-6205, Bangladesh. E-mail: swaponru_2000@yahoo.com.

Accepted 22 August, 2022

Abstract

This study utilized data from Bangladesh Demographic and Health Survey 2004 to identify the determinants of knowledge about AIDS for women of urban and rural areas of Bangladesh, bi-variate and multivariate logistic regression methods were employed in analyzing data. This study found that a wider gap exists between urban and rural areas regarding knowledge about AIDS, where every 8 out of 10 urban women know about AIDS but almost half of the rural women still do not know about AIDS. Mass media play a major role for growing awareness about AIDS in both of these areas. In the urban area 61.6 percent women knew at least one correct way to avoid AIDS but rural women are in miserable condition because the corresponding figure for rural women was only 31.3% that means 37.7 and 67.7% among urban and rural women respectively still did not know how to avoid AIDS. Binary logistic regression method shows that education, occupation, ever use of contraception, currently using condom, permission to go to hospital/health center, mass media exposure, region of residence and wealth index significantly influence the knowledge about AIDS among rural women, whereas, in the urban areas except occupation and currently using condom all these remaining variables appear as the significant predictors of knowledge about AIDS.

Key words: AIDS, mass media, Bangladesh, logistic regression analysis.