Browsing by Author "Sakala, Thandizo Enalla"

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    The Impact of Marital Status and Level of Education on Aids Awareness and Willingness to Test for HIV in Women in the Cities of Blantyre and Lilongwe
    (Kamuzu University of Health Sciences, 2001-04-30) Sakala, Thandizo Enalla
    This study was part of a larger study that was looking at evaluation of AIDS prevention measures in Malawi. It was a replica of another study done in Botswana in 1998. This minor study was trying to determine differences in AIDS awareness and willingness to test for HIV amongst women in the cities of Lilongwe and Blantyre by level of education and marital status. This study used data collected by chief participants of the study. This study was to identify which groups of women between those that are married, not married, those that have higher education and those that have less education have more AIDS awareness and willingness to test for HIV. The information got from this study will serve as a basis for the concerned governmental and non-governmental sectors in formulating different policies aiming at dissemination of AIDS information to ensure equal, adequate acquisition of this AIDS related information across these women categories. This in the long run will help these women to adopt behavioral changes of which testing for HIV is a step leading to such behavioral change to control the AIDS epidemic in the country. The findings of this study will also help in generating knowledge gaps for future research. The study used a correlation study design. The study sample composed of 263 women . The participants comprised of students in nursing and teachers training colleges and clerical bank workers. Their ages ranged from 19_60. Out of these women 58.2% were married and 35.7% were not married. They had educational attainment ranging from junior certificate, MSCE and one or more years of college. The participants were from various ethnic groups of Malawi namely chewa, tumbuka, yao, ngoni, loin we, sena, nkhonde, Tonga. Their denominations included catholic, CCAP, seventh day Adventist and Moslems. The study was conducted in the two largest cities of Malawi: Blantyre and Lilongwe. The study variables are: independent : level of education and marital status, dependent variables: AIDS awareness and willingness to test for HIV. Data was collected by chief investigators of the larger study. Data collected was entered into the computer and analyzed using the Statistical Package for Social Sciences. Chi-square was used to test the significance of results. The sample lacks the representativeness of the diversity of all types of Malawi. The design used for this study makes it difficult for drawing causal inferences since it is difficult to know which preceded the other. However the study has a larger sample size which increases its statistical conclusion validity. Also the presence of different sites removes possible effects of risk of random heterogeneity of subjects. The results of the study indicated that there is no difference in level of AIDS awareness between those women who were married and not married nor between those women who were highly educated and less educated. The study also revealed that there was no difference in level of willingness to test for HIV between those women who were married and not married. Similarly the study revealed that there was no difference in level of willingness to test for HIV between those women who had higher education and less education.