Human Immunodeficiency Virus (HIV) is a disease that targets and changes the human immune system, increasing the risk and impact of other infections and diseases. Without treatment, this virus progresses to an advanced disease called Acquired Immunodeficiency Syndrome (AIDS). Ignorance of HIV/AIDS can lead to the stigmatization of PLWHA. This prevents PLWHA from contributing to society meaningfully and damages their social and psychological health. This study sought to determine the level of awareness towards HIV/AIDS and the level of acceptance towards PLWHA among senior high school (SHS) students in the 9th cluster of Toledo City, Cebu. It further sought to determine whether or not a correlation exists between the students’ awareness and acceptance towards PLWHA. To arrive at these, this study utilized questions adopted from Carey, Beedy and Johnson (1997), and Unnikrishnan, Mithra and Reshmi (2010) for HIV/AIDS-awareness and HIV/AIDS-Acceptance, respectively; with slight modifications in the wording for the students’ comfort. The respondents of this study were 336 SHS students, selected via stratified random sampling from an overall population of 2,094 SHS students. The study found that the respondents exhibited a high level of awareness about HIV/AIDS, as well as a high level of acceptance towards PLWHA. Further, it was found that there is a statistically significant correlation between gender and awareness of HIV/AIDS. It was also found that there is a statistically significant correlation between gender and attitude towards PLWHA. This study arrived at the conclusion that there is a statistically significant and strong correlation between the respondents’ awareness and attitude towards PLWHA.
HIV/AIDS, PLWHA, sex education, stigma
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