Information of the Population of the Chelyabinsk Region about HIV

Infection and the Need for Services Related to the Prevention of HIV

Infection

A. М. Romodina

, D. V. Valko

, Е. А. Skachkova

and А. V. Tananin

The South Ural University of Technology, Chelyabinsk, Russia

The Charitable Foundation “Istochnik Nadezhdy”, Chelyabinsk, Russia

Keywords: HIV infection, public awareness, Chelyabinsk region, HIV prevention.

Abstract: The article analyzes the data of a sociological study conducted by the authors on the territory of the

Chelyabinsk region among citizens who took part in social projects of the Charitable Foundation “Istochnik

Nadezhdy”. Based on the results obtained, the authors assessed the level of awareness of the population about

HIV infection and the demand for services related to the prevention of HIV infection. Based on the results of

the work, it was concluded that most of the respondents are sufficiently informed about what HIV infection

is, about the ways of infection and what methods of prevention of this disease exist. Based on the results of

the study, the authors proposed to conduct more active preventive work among the population of the

Chelyabinsk region, as well as to ensure that the population is informed on behalf of medical workers about

the level of morbidity in the region, about the main periods of the development of the disease, about the

mechanisms of infection and how HIV infection can be transmitted, and where to get free help.

1 INTRODUCTION

AIDS, as one of the most important social problems,

arose before humanity at the end of the 20th century.

There are currently more than 40 million HIV-

infected officially registered in the world (Hongfei et

al, 2017).

The very first death from AIDS was recorded by

scientists in 1959 in Central Africa.

Later, the conclusion of doctors who studied the

medical history of a deceased person recognized that

this was the first (zero) recorded case of death from

AIDS in the world.

By 1985, the ways of HIV infection were finally

identified and officially confirmed - through blood,

sperm, breast milk. In the same year, the very first

HIV test was created.

Based on this development, the United States of

America and Japan began testing all donated blood

for HIV for the first time.

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In Russia, the first major outbreak of the disease

occurred in the capital of Kalmykia - Elista. A worker

who served in the navy in 1982 became patient zero.

He passed the virus to his wife, and during pregnancy

their child was also infected. Immediately after the

birth of the baby, they were hospitalized in the

hospital, where the baby died before the diagnosis

was made. A total of 75 children and 4 adult women

were infected in Elista.

In the USSR at the end of the 80s cases of

infection of children with the immunodeficiency

virus during medical examinations were registered

(Elista, Krasnodar, Rostov on Don, Volgograd). The

total number of infected people was about 255.

Today Russia ranks 46th among countries in

terms of the spread of HIV infection. According to

most doctors, the Russian Federation is practically

one step away from the HIV epidemic (exceeding the

threshold of 2%). In Russia, only according to official

data, from 250 to 300 thousand people die from AIDS

every year (Fadeeva, 2020).

Romodina, A., Valko, D., Skachkova, E. and Tananin, A.

Information of the Population of the Chelyabinsk Region about HIV Infection and the Need for Services Related to the Prevention of HIV Infection.

DOI: 10.5220/0010680900003169

In Proceedings of the International Scientiﬁc-Practical Conference "Ensuring the Stability and Security of Socio-Economic Systems: Overcoming the Threats of the Crisis Space" (SES 2021),

pages 12-16

ISBN: 978-989-758-546-3

The study is devoted to studying the level of

awareness of the population about HIV infection and

the demand for services related to the prevention of

HIV infection.

The purpose of the study is to assess the level of

awareness and demand for services related to the

prevention of the spread of HIV infection among

people who took part in the projects of the Charitable

Foundation “Istochnik Nadezhdy”.

Research objectives:

 Studying and determining the level of

knowledge of the population about the HIV / AIDS

disease itself, modes of transmission and methods of

treatment.

 Analysis of people's awareness of methods of

prevention of the spread of disease.

 Analysis of the awareness of the population

about the services that can be obtained as part of

preventive measures or in case of detection of a

disease.

 Development of recommendations to improve

the level of awareness of the population about HIV

infection and about services and activities related to

the prevention of the spread of HIV infection.

 The object of the research is the persons who

took part in the projects of the Charitable Foundation

“Istochnik Nadezhdy”.

The subject of the research is the level of

awareness of the population about HIV infection and

the public demand for services related to measures to

prevent the spread of HIV infection.

2 MATERIALS AND METHODS

The research was carried out by the Charitable

Foundation “Istochnik Nadezhdy” in cooperation

with the South Ural University of Technology.

According to the developed questionnaire, in the

period June-August 2020, 2100 people who use

psychoactive substances and use the services of the

Charitable Foundation “Istochnik Nadezhdy” for

HIV prevention were interviewed within the

framework of the project “Responding to the HIV

epidemic in the Urals District, among key groups”.

The sample included 2,100 people living in the

Chelyabinsk region. Sample type - multistage, serial

(gender, age, education level, professional

affiliation).

The representativeness of the sample allows us to

consider the opinion of the respondents as the opinion

of all people who participated in the project of the

Charitable Foundation “Istochnik Nadezhdy”

"Response to the HIV epidemic in the Urals District,

among key groups" with a statistical error of up to

2.1%.

Questionnaire points of respondents:

1. Outreach exits in Chelyabinsk, Kopeisk and

Magnitogorsk. Pedestrian outreach and interviews of

respondents using the visits of the Mobile Point.

2. Stationary Prevention Points in Chelyabinsk,

Magnitogorsk. These are the branch offices of the

Charitable Foundation “Istochnik Nadezhdy”.

The methodological basis of the research is

modern approaches in the field of organizing

sociological research, supported by analytical

methods and advanced developments in this area.

3 RESULTS AND DISCUSSION

Today, despite the fact that information is available

“in one click”, it is very difficult for an ordinary

member of society to obtain the most relevant,

complete and competent data regarding HIV

infection. There is a lot of talk about the human

immunodeficiency virus, but most people prefer to

bypass this topic, as it causes fear and rejection.

In this regard, we conducted a study aimed at

assessing the level of awareness of HIV infection

among people who use psychoactive substances and

use the services of the Charitable Foundation

“Istochnik Nadezhdy” for HIV prevention within the

framework of the project “Responding to the HIV

epidemic in the Urals District, among key groups”.

The most part of the respondents (43%) are

between 30 and 39 years old, 24% are between 20 and

29 years old, and those who are between 40 and 49

years old are only 20%.

Men make up the overwhelming majority of 69%

of the total number of respondents, and women - 31%.

The main part of those who participated in the

projects 61% (1045 people) have secondary or

specialized secondary education, 283 people have

higher education, which is 13%.

Most of the men surveyed (90%) are aware that

HIV infection is a serious disease, 91% of the women

surveyed agree with them. Only 3% of men and

women, respectively, think HIV is a scam and not a

cause for concern. Educational activity of the

Charitable Foundation “Istochnik Nadezhdy” gave

such a high result among the project participants.

If we consider the age of men and women, then

the overwhelming majority of the working age of

both sexes consider HIV-dangerous disease.

Information of the Population of the Chelyabinsk Region about HIV Infection and the Need for Services Related to the Prevention of HIV

Infection

Figure 1: What is the effect of HIV infection on the human

body? (in % of the total number of responses).

The most common answer to the question of how

HIV infection affects human health was “destroys the

immune system” - 80.1% of the respondents chose it.

9% of the respondents found it difficult to answer,

and 5.8% named the option “destroys the blood

coagulation system”. In principle, the respondents are

fully aware of the main factors of HIV infection that

affect the human body (see Fig. 1).

Figure 2. Ways of HIV transmission (in % of the total

number of men's responses).

When answering the questions about the known

ways of HIV transmission, the opinions of men and

women practically coincided (see Fig. 2, 3).

Figure 3: Ways of HIV transmission (in% of the total

number of responses of women).

Men and women more often indicated such

options as “Use of shared (non-disposable or non-

sterile) needles and syringes for injection” - 19.2%

and 18.8%, “unprotected sex” - 18.2% and 19.07%,

“Use of non-sterile equipment for piercing and

tattoos” by 13.2%, respectively.

This fact indicates that most of those who took

part in the study are aware of the main ways of HIV

transmission. This also suggests that participation in

the project has increased the level of awareness of

people.

Figure 4: Respondents' answers to the question: “What

biological fluids are the most dangerous ones for HIV

transmission?” (in % of the number of respondents).

The wrong option "saliva" was chosen by only

2.5% of the respondents. It can be concluded that

people who use psychoactive substances and use the

services of the Charitable Foundation “Istochnik

Nadezhdy” have a fairly high level of awareness

about how to get infected with HIV.

Figure 5: Groups of people with high risk of HIV infection

and transmission (in % of the total number of respondents).

The survey participants believe that clients of nail

and pedicure salons (offices) (4%) and patients of

dental institutions (5%) are least at risk.

Most likely, this is because people do not wonder

how manicure instruments are sterilized, whether the

master uses professional equipment such as a

sterilizer (disinfector). Or they believe that all masters

apply the necessary measures, including those who

work at home or in small salons. As for dental

institutions, they are medical institutions and must

strictly observe all measures to comply with the rules

of sterility in order to minimize all possible risks of

any infections of clients, including HIV.

In our research, we also asked the respondents:

"How can HIV infection be detected in a person?"

SES 2021 - INTERNATIONAL SCIENTIFIC-PRACTICAL CONFERENCE "ENSURING THE STABILITY AND SECURITY OF

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Figure 6: Methods for diagnosing HIV infection (in % of

the total number of respondents).

The overwhelming majority of the surveyed

project participants, 84.7%, know that in order to find

out their HIV status, it is necessary to take a blood

test. The special attention of the fund's projects is

aimed at informing people how to find out their HIV

status, where to turn for help and where they can get

free services for the treatment and prevention of

morbidity. And only 7.8% of respondents rely on

external signs. There is a prevailing stereotype that

HIV patients look emaciated or with signs of chronic

fatigue on their face, their hair falls out a lot, there are

abscesses and acne all over the body, and there is a

lack of body weight.

Table 1: Respondents' answers to the question: “Can an

HIV-infected woman give birth to a healthy child” (in % of

the total number of answers).

Can an HIV-

infected woman

give birth to a

healthy baby?

Number of

respondents,

people

Number, in%

No, under any

circumstances

203 10

Yes, if she takes

medications

regularly as

prescribed by her

docto

1426 68

Not sure 426 20

No answer 45 2

Thanks to participation in the project, most of the

respondents were able to answer this question

correctly. The majority of respondents, 68%, believe

that if a woman regularly takes medications, she can

give birth to an uninfected child. A pregnant woman

with a positive HIV status is monitored by a

gynecologist and an infectious disease specialist.

Doctors draw up an individual treatment regimen.

Medication prevents the development of the virus,

so that with full adherence to the treatment plan, a

woman with a positive HIV status can give birth to an

absolutely healthy baby.

Table 2: People's answers to the question: “Do you know

where, if necessary, you need to go to get tested for HIV?”

(in % of the total number of responses).

Do you

know where, if

necessary, you

need to go to

get tested for

HIV infection?

Number of

respondents,

people

Number, in%

Yes 1663

No 225

Not sure 192

Also, almost the majority of respondents know

where to go to get tested for HIV infection. Today,

almost all medical institutions (polyclinics,

laboratories, medical centers) can take a blood test for

HIV infection.

Table 3: Respondents' answers to the question: “If you

knew that your friend is HIV-positive, would you stop

communicating with him?” (in % of the total number of

responses).

If you found out

that your friend

is HIV positive,

would you stop

communicating

with him?

Number of

respondents,

people

Number, in%

Yes

304 14

1463 70

Not sure

313 15

No answer 20 1

HIV-infected people periodically face

discrimination, people, when they find out about their

diagnosis, stop communicating with them. Health

workers sometimes fail to comply with

confidentiality requirements and disclose HIV status

information. This problem is especially relevant in

small towns and villages, where people are afraid to

take the test, because the whole community can learn

about its results. Employers can force workers with

HIV diagnoses to leave.

The majority of those participating in our study,

70%, answered that they would not stop

communicating with a person if they found out about

his positive HIV status.

Only 14%, namely 304 people out of 2,100

respondents, said they would stop communicating.

Information of the Population of the Chelyabinsk Region about HIV Infection and the Need for Services Related to the Prevention of HIV

Infection

4 CONCLUSIONS

Based on the results of a survey of people who use

psychoactive substances and use the services of the

Charitable Foundation “Istochnik Nadezhdy” for

HIV prevention within the framework of the project

"Responding to the HIV epidemic in the Urals

District, among key groups" in July-August 2020, it

can be concluded that most of the respondents are

sufficiently informed about what HIV infection is,

about the ways of infection and about what methods

of prevention of this disease exist.

If we consider the age of men and women, then

the overwhelming majority of the working age of

both sexes consider HIV-dangerous disease.

Most of the respondents have an idea of how HIV

infection affects their health. Most often, the answer

to the question of how HIV infection affects human

health was the answer “destroys the immune system”

- 80.1% of the respondents chose it. 9% of the

respondents found it difficult to answer, and 5.8%

named the option “destroys the blood coagulation

system”. The population, in principle, does not fully

know all the factors of HIV infection that affect the

human body.

When answering the questions about the known

ways of HIV transmission, men and women were

more likely to mention “Use of shared (not disposable

or non-sterile) needles and syringes for injection” -

19.2% and 18.8%, “unprotected sex” - 18, 2% vs.

19.07%. “Use of non-sterile equipment for piercing

and tattoos” by 13.2%, respectively.

The majority of the respondents attributed people

who inject drugs and people who have casual sex to

risk groups, 22%, respectively. The third and fourth

places are taken by people with non-traditional sexual

orientation (16%) and persons providing commercial

sex services (15%).

72% of respondents know that there are drugs for

the treatment of HIV infection. Only 9% of the people

surveyed do not know about the existence of drugs for

this disease

Most of the respondents are aware that HIV

infection can be treated, and this disease cannot be

cured, but the body lends itself to long-term therapy

and, thanks to this, the risk of the infection becoming

AIDS is reduced.

Also, almost the majority of respondents know

where to go to get tested for HIV infection. Today,

almost all medical institutions (clinics, laboratories,

medical centers) can take a blood test.

62% of the respondents trust medical workers as

a source of information, 58% trust the AIDS Center

helpline employees, and 29% trust the media.

Based on the results of the study,

recommendations were made:

1. To carry out active preventive work among the

population of the Chelyabinsk region.

2. To ensure that the population is informed on

behalf of medical workers about the incidence rate in

the region, the main periods of the disease

development, the mechanisms of infection and how

HIV infection can be transmitted and where free

assistance can be obtained.

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SES 2021 - INTERNATIONAL SCIENTIFIC-PRACTICAL CONFERENCE "ENSURING THE STABILITY AND SECURITY OF

SOCIO - ECONOMIC SYSTEMS: OVERCOMING THE THREATS OF THE CRISIS SPACE"