Association of knowledge of HIV and other factors with individuals' attitudes toward HIV infection: a national cross-sectional survey among the Japanese non-medical working population.

Background: The stigma of and discrimination because of HIV has been described as the most important obstacle to prevention and treatment efforts. The purpose of this study was to investigate negative attitudes and prejudice toward HIV among the Japanese non-medical working population and to explore contributing factors.

Methods: An online anonymous nationwide survey involving approximately 3,000 individuals was conducted in Japan. Questions ranged from background information and HIV knowledge to individuals' attitudes towards HIV infection in the workplace. Descriptive statistics and logistic regression were applied for analysis.

Results: Thirty-three percent of participants feared transmission of HIV from infected colleagues, 34% tended to avoid contact with them and 40% had prejudiced opinions about HIV infection. Despite a relatively high level of knowledge of HIV/AIDS overall (11.9 ± 3.3 from 15 points), only 50% of individuals were aware of some issues. Greater knowledge was associated with less negative attitudes towards HIV infection (OR 0.39, 95% CI 0.31-0.48 for prejudiced opinion, high compared with low level of knowledge), whereas greater health consciousness was inversely related to attitude (OR 1.97, 95% CI 1.50-2.58 for prejudiced opinion, high compared with low health consciousness).

Conclusion: Knowledge neutralizes peoples' negative attitudes towards HIV infection, whereas greater health consciousness may worsen them. Educational programs should balance knowledge with health consciousness to improve the efficacy of HIV interventions.