<TABLE cellSpacing=0 cellPadding=0 width="100%" border=0><TBODY><TR>Preventing Aids: Young people know least about it
</TR><!-- headline one : end --><TR>Those aged 18 to 29 ranked lowest in health board's survey on Aids awareness </TR><!-- Author --><TR><TD class="padlrt8 georgia11 darkgrey bold" colSpan=2>By April Chong
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PHOTO: COURTESY OF THE NEW PAPER
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<!-- START OF : div id="storytext"--><!-- more than 4 paragraphs -->YOUNG people aged 18 to 29, who are more likely to be sexually active than any other group, know the least about how to prevent Aids, a new survey has found.
They ranked lowest among the age groups, with just three quarters knowing at least two ways that the Aids virus could be prevented, compared with more than 80 per cent for the other age groups.
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STATISTICS: AWARENESS OF HIV/AIDS PREVENTION
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</TD></TR></TBODY></TABLE>Those in the 30 to 49 group were best informed, according to the first survey of its kind conducted by the Health Promotion Board (HPB), which oversees HIV prevention programmes in Singapore.
It polled 1,800 people aged 18 to 69.
The survey also found that only one in two of the population knew that consistent condom use would prevent Aids, though at least three quarters were aware that abstinence and faithfulness to one's partner were other measures.
The survey will be conducted every three years and will help the HPB fill the gaps in its public education programmes.
One such gap is the lack of knowledge among young people, which has grave consequences.
At the Department of STI Control clinic, patients in the 20 to 29 age group make up some 40 per cent of all its cases.
More distressingly, there has been a spike in sexually transmitted infections among the young. Between 1998 and last year, the incidence of such diseases among those aged 15 to 24 rose nearly 45 per cent, from 231 to 418 cases per 100,000 population, Health Minister Khaw Boon Wan told Parliament last month.
'The younger group just wants to have fun and they do not care less about awareness,' said Mr Lionel Lee, executive director of the voluntary organisation Action for Aids.
HPB said it would have new programmes targeted at the younger crowd, such as a concert at Fort Canning Park on Nov 29, to bring home the message of Aids prevention. More details can be found at www.loveamp.sg.
On the issue of condom use, it said that the general population may not be aware of its role in HIV prevention because the Board's emphasis to the public has always been on abstinence and faithfulness, said Ms JoAnn Taylor, deputy director of Communicable Disease Education in HPB's Adult Health Division.
But the survey also found that only 22 per cent of those at risk - men who have sex with other men, those with multiple sexual partners, or who engage in casual sex - use condoms consistently during sexual activity.
To combat the spread of Aids and its misconceptions, the Board will be rolling out education strategies in workplaces and in the heartland.
This includes community art exhibitions and a Mandarin drama serial which revolves around the Aids theme. The drama serial, By My Side, will be broadcast on Channel 8 at the end of the month. [email protected]
</TR><!-- headline one : end --><TR>Those aged 18 to 29 ranked lowest in health board's survey on Aids awareness </TR><!-- Author --><TR><TD class="padlrt8 georgia11 darkgrey bold" colSpan=2>By April Chong
</TD></TR><!-- show image if available --><TR vAlign=bottom><TD width=330>
</TD><TD width=10>
PHOTO: COURTESY OF THE NEW PAPER
</TD></TR></TBODY></TABLE>
<!-- START OF : div id="storytext"--><!-- more than 4 paragraphs -->YOUNG people aged 18 to 29, who are more likely to be sexually active than any other group, know the least about how to prevent Aids, a new survey has found.
They ranked lowest among the age groups, with just three quarters knowing at least two ways that the Aids virus could be prevented, compared with more than 80 per cent for the other age groups.
<TABLE width=200 align=left valign="top"><TBODY><TR><TD class=padr8><!-- Vodcast --><!-- Background Story -->RELATED LINKS
<!-- Audio --><!-- Video --><!-- PDF -->
<!-- Photo Gallery -->
</TD></TR></TBODY></TABLE>Those in the 30 to 49 group were best informed, according to the first survey of its kind conducted by the Health Promotion Board (HPB), which oversees HIV prevention programmes in Singapore.
It polled 1,800 people aged 18 to 69.
The survey also found that only one in two of the population knew that consistent condom use would prevent Aids, though at least three quarters were aware that abstinence and faithfulness to one's partner were other measures.
The survey will be conducted every three years and will help the HPB fill the gaps in its public education programmes.
One such gap is the lack of knowledge among young people, which has grave consequences.
At the Department of STI Control clinic, patients in the 20 to 29 age group make up some 40 per cent of all its cases.
More distressingly, there has been a spike in sexually transmitted infections among the young. Between 1998 and last year, the incidence of such diseases among those aged 15 to 24 rose nearly 45 per cent, from 231 to 418 cases per 100,000 population, Health Minister Khaw Boon Wan told Parliament last month.
'The younger group just wants to have fun and they do not care less about awareness,' said Mr Lionel Lee, executive director of the voluntary organisation Action for Aids.
HPB said it would have new programmes targeted at the younger crowd, such as a concert at Fort Canning Park on Nov 29, to bring home the message of Aids prevention. More details can be found at www.loveamp.sg.
On the issue of condom use, it said that the general population may not be aware of its role in HIV prevention because the Board's emphasis to the public has always been on abstinence and faithfulness, said Ms JoAnn Taylor, deputy director of Communicable Disease Education in HPB's Adult Health Division.
But the survey also found that only 22 per cent of those at risk - men who have sex with other men, those with multiple sexual partners, or who engage in casual sex - use condoms consistently during sexual activity.
To combat the spread of Aids and its misconceptions, the Board will be rolling out education strategies in workplaces and in the heartland.
This includes community art exhibitions and a Mandarin drama serial which revolves around the Aids theme. The drama serial, By My Side, will be broadcast on Channel 8 at the end of the month. [email protected]
