Tanzania HIV/AIDS and Malaria Indicator Survey ... - Measure DHS

The use of condoms as an effective means of preventing HIV transmission is less commonlycited amongst the identified ways of HIV prevention, especially among women in the SouthernHighlands Zone (50 percent) and women and men in Zanzibar (46 and 49 percent, respectively). Thelowest proportions knowing about condom use as an HIV preventive measure are found in PembaIsland (37 percent for women and 49 percent for men). Urban residents are more likely than ruralresidents to know about all three methods mentioned to prevent HIV infection, except for condomuse, which is cited by more rural than urban men. Another distinct feature observed from the data isthat knowledge of all HIV prevention methods mentioned generally increases with increasing level ofeducation and wealth quintile.5.3 REJECTION OF MISCONCEPTIONS ABOUT HIV/AIDSIn line with knowledge about effective ways to avoid contracting HIV, it is useful to identifyincorrect beliefs about AIDS, to eliminate misconceptions. Common misconceptions about HIV andAIDS include the belief that HIV-infected people always appear sick, and the belief that the virus canbe transmitted through mosquito or other insect bites, by sharing food with someone who is infected,and by witchcraft or other supernatural means. Respondents were asked about these misconceptionsand the findings are presented in Tables 5.3.1 and 5.3.2.The vast majority of Tanzanians age 15-49 know that an HIV-infected person does notnecessarily show signs of infection. This knowledge is maintained by about 80 percent of women and86 percent of men in all age groups. As Figure 5.1 shows, between 1999 and 2007 there was anincrease in the proportion of women and men who acknowledge that a healthy-looking person can beinfected with HIV. There is, however, a distinct urban-rural differential in knowledge among women.Ninety-one percent of women in urban areas have knowledge about such misconceptions, comparedwith 76 percent of their rural counterparts.Regarding other types of misconceptions, at least seven in ten people know that AIDS cannotbe transmitted by mosquito bites, and at least eight in ten know that AIDS cannot be transmitted bysupernatural means or by sharing food with a person with AIDS. Correct rejection of these misconceptionsis more common among urban than rural women and men.54 | HIV/AIDS-Related Knowledge