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SUMMARY Purpose: A short HIV/AIDS risk behaviour knowledge index based on questions about HIV transmission and prevention of HIV infection during sexual intercourse and intravenous drug use is proposed and implemented for an HIV average risk population in Munich. Methods: Knowledge levels about HIV/AIDS risk behaviour was assessed in a group of people (n=210) in sexually active age range of 18-49 years which was at an average risk of contracting HIV. Four questions about HIV transmission by unprotected vaginal, anal, or oral sexual intercourse, and by needle sharing, and two questions about HIV prevention by condom use, and the single use of needles and syringes were chosen from ten others for making a four level risk behaviour knowledge index (HIV/AIDS Transmission through Sex and Intravenous Drug Use, HATSIDU) internally consistent according to Cronbach's alpha. Results: HATSIDU index (mean 3.0, SD±1.18) was not associated (p>0.05) with sex and marital status, but depended (p Conclusion: The HATSIDU is a simple and usable index for the assessment of HIV/AIDS risk behaviour knowledge in a population with an average risk of HIV infection. Key words: HIV/AIDS, risk behaviour knowledge INTRODUCTION Knowledge about HIV/AIDS is one usable indirect criterion for the assessment of behavioural risk and preventative behaviour regarding HIV infection. HIV/AIDS knowledge has been investigated in various populations, for example school students (1, 2), adolescents (3), migrant farm workers (4), pregnant women (5), the mentally ill (6), and also in a group of intravenous drug users (IDUs) who have a high risk of contracting HIV (7). The HIV/AIDS risk behaviour knowledge scale was first developed by Kelly et al. (1989) (8) using a group of students, and homosexual men (men who have sex with men, MSM). The assessment of HIV knowledge or HIV risk behaviour knowledge in population is usually performed by summing up correct answers to questions about HIV transmission and prevention according to age, gender, national, social, and educational status in a knowledge score (4, 6, 8). The summing up of correct answers to questions about the possibility of HIV transmission by sexual intercourse, intravenous drug sharing, from an infected mother to her child, by hand shaking, or by using public places assumes that all questions are of equal significance and the answers fall in the same rank of importance. Therefore, respondents who correctly answered questions about HIV transmission by sex and drug use but gave incorrect answers for questions about kissing and hand shaking, would receive the same summed knowledge score as the respondents who failed in questions about HIV transmission by sex and intravenous drug use but answered correctly on kissing and hand contact, for example. Because of the equality of all items in constructing a summed knowledge score, HIV/AIDS knowledge can be investigated, but it is not really useful for the assessment of risk behaviour knowledge regarding HIV/AIDS. Assessment of risk behaviour knowledge means that ignorance of some risks has more impact on risk behaviour than others. For example, ignorance about condom use cannot be equated with misconceptions about HIV transmission through hairdressing or by the use of public toilets. Since 2004, 26 European Union/European Economic Area countries with exception of Poland and Estonia have been reporting statistics regarding transmission routes of HIV infection (9). HIV incidence in EU/EEA decreased in 2009 (5.7/100,000 population) compared to 2004 (6.5/100,000) and was accompanied by a 40% decrease of intravenous transmission of HIV by intravenous drug users (IDUs), but by a 24% increase in homosexually (MSM) transmitted HIV. …

Aussiedler aus der ehemaligen Sowjetunion stellen in Deutschland eine der grosten Zuwanderergruppen dar. Manche kommen aus Gebieten mit relativ hoher HIV-Pravalenz wie Ukraine und Russland. Bis jetzt existieren keine Daten uber die Einstellungen und das Wissen zu HIV/AIDS in dieser Gruppe. Mittels einer anonymen postalischen multizentrischen Befragung in Bayern wurden 927 Aussiedler angeschrieben. An der Befragung nahmen 37,3% Aussiedler teil. Fur 81,7% Befragte war das Thema HIV/AIDS (sehr) wichtig, 62,3% fuhlten sich (sehr) gut informiert. Drogenabhangige (89,2%), Prostituierte (78%) und Homosexuelle (76%) wurden als Risikogruppen erwahnt. Spritzen/Nadeln (97%), Vaginal- (82,5%), Anal- (65,1%), Oralverkehr (50%) wurden als HIV-Ubertragungs-, Kondom (91,6%), Einwegspritzen/-nadeln (79,9%) als Schutzwege benannt. Aussiedler zeigten insgesamt ein akzeptables HIV/AIDS-Wissensniveau, obwohl das Wissen uber sexuelle Ubertragung ungenugend war; die Aussiedler werden kaum von der konventionellen HIV-Pravention in Deutschland erreicht.

HIV incidence in Germany is increasing even though the German Federal Centre for Health Education reported that the entire German population (99 %) has sufficient knowledge of sexual HIV transmission. We tried to find out the reason for this discrepancy. HIV transmission knowledge was investigated in a Munich population (n = 317) and the findings compared with a nationwide study. No differences in knowledge regarding needle sharing and HIV/AIDS curability were found but, in relation to sexual HIV transmission, only 55.5 % of Munich respondents had sufficient knowledge of vaginal, anal and oral transmission routes. The knowledge level reported in the nationwide study is overestimated as a result of the ambiguous character of the questions used.

In Germany, immigrants from Former Soviet Union (FSU) countries represent one of the largest immigrant groups. Some FSU countries face the highest HIV prevalence in the region of Eastern Europe and Central Asia. However, the HIV knowledge, attitude and behavioral intent have not been investigated in FSU immigrants compared to the native population yet. A cross-sectional anonymous survey among 1,205 FSU immigrants and 435 native Germans (aged 18–65 years) in Bavaria. Data analysis from the participating 435 (36 %) immigrants and 334 (76.8 %) natives showed that the immigrants were less knowledgeable (p

Background Dermatologists are often the first-line specialists who recognize and diagnose human immunodeficiency virus (HIV) infection because of pathognomic skin signs. It is therefore important to investigate attitudes and knowledge regarding HIV/acquired immunodeficiency syndrome (AIDS) amongst dermatological patients in order to provide information for dermatologists and to draw their attention to the issues. Objectives Awareness of HIV/AIDS, its prevention, and hypothetical behaviour were surveyed in dermatological outpatients. Patients/method The anonymous cross-sectional survey was conducted with consecutive German-speaking outpatients aged 18–65 years, who registered at the dermatological outpatient's clinic (excluding venereology, genitourinary or HIV medicine) of the University of Munich (Germany). Results Three hundred forty-seven (77.5%) questionnaires were accepted for analysis. Most of the patients knew about HIV incurability (89.4%), HIV transmissibility during needle sharing (95.3%), or vaginal (87.4%) and anal intercourse (79.5%), as well as about HIV prevention by condom use (97.8%), and use of single needles (76.2%). However, knowledge gaps and misconceptions were detected regarding the risk of HIV transmission during oral sex, and the efficacy of sexual fidelity and avoidance of blood transfusions in HIV prevention. The lowest knowledge level (

Sir, German resettlers are German offspring, who immigrated in the 18–19th century to the Russian Empire following the invitation of Empress Catherine the Great.1 During 1991–2006, 2 092 865 resettlers and their relatives returned to Germany, and this process is still going on.2 Since 2001, an increasing of number of HIV infections has been reported in the resettlers' countries of origin, the former Soviet Union (FSU), which is comparable to an epidemic.3,4 There is no current data available on how many HIV-positive resettlers or immigrants from the FSU are registered in Germany, but an increasing number of HIV diagnoses in resettlers newly arrived from the FSU regions with a high prevalence of HIV is to be …