Effects of a brief health education intervention on AIDS among young Chinese adults in Hong Kong

To examine the effects of an HIV/AIDS educational intervention among young Chinese adults in Hong Kong, we carried out a study among a group of 118 young subjects (most aged 18-25 years). Subjects were recruited from a service force and were assigned to intervention and control groups. Respondents in the intervention group attended one 90-min educational session. At baseline there was no significant difference in different variables among participants in the study. At follow-up four months later, participants in the HIV/AIDS intervention group had increased knowledge of AIDS, more positive attitudes towards AIDS prevention, held higher perception of sexually transmitted disease (STD) risk, showed higher intention to use condoms with regular and irregular partners and talked more with friends about safer sex. Respondents in the control group had more positive attitudes towards AIDS prevention and held higher perception of illness risk with no other significant changes. This first intervention study among young Chinese adults in Hong Kong identified the usefulness and limitations of an HIV/AIDS educational program. The effectiveness and limitation of the current intervention serve as an initial attempt in conducting similar studies in the future targeting the Chinese youth.