Health Departments Nationwide Launch HIV/AIDS Knowledge Attitudes and Beliefs Survey

State and local health departments in partnership with the Black AIDS Institute, the National Alliance for State and Territorial AIDS Directors (NASTAD), John Hopkins University, the Latino Commission on AIDS, and the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention have launched a survey to assess the knowledge, attitudes and beliefs of people working or volunteering in HIV/AIDS treatment and prevention.

This survey is the second phase of a nationwide study spearheaded by the Black AIDS Institute. While understanding the science of HIV is critically important for both treatment and prevention, the level of knowledge of the current work force is not clear. The goal is to better understand what members of the HIV workforce know and don't know about the science of HIV/AIDS, so that appropriate training, capacity building and technical assistance can be created to end the AIDS epidemic in the state.

Phill Wilson, president and CEO of the Black AIDS Institute, points out that with so many new and exciting developments in research, prevention and treatment, it's crucial for HIV/AIDS professionals to be knowledgeable.

"Quite possibly for the first time in the history of the epidemic, the results of this study will provide information to State health departments, policymakers and community organizations on the baseline knowledge, attitudes and beliefs of people who are working and volunteering in AIDS," he says.

The on-line survey takes only 10-15 minutes to complete. The survey is divided into three parts. Part one includes demographic and screening questions. Part includes knowledge questions. Part three includes questions about biomedical interventions. Survey participants will have 60 seconds to answer each knowledge question, but there is no time limit for all other questions.

Go to www.aidssurvey.com between now and July 18th to take the survey online.