Evaluating HIV Knowledge and Attitudes in First-Year Medical Students: Pre- and Post-Targeted Education Module

Abstract

Background: Many medical schools encourage participation in clinics where human immunodeficiency virus (HIV) testing should be performed in light of the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention’s 2006 recommendations. It has been shown that preclinical medical students have knowledge gaps and/or stigmatizing attitudes that may compromise their care of patients living with HIV. This initiative sought to develop a training module to address these knowledge gaps and evaluate the efficacy of the module in remedying them.
Methods: A training module was developed from evidence-based sources. A test consisting of previously validated questions was administered to first-year medical students at Georgetown University as a pre-test and post-test with the training module viewed in between. A paired t-test was performed to determine if statistical significance existed between the pre- and post-training scores.
Results: A total of 158 medical students completed the training. A statistically significant difference was found between the overall pre- and post-training mean scores (p< 0.0001). Improvement of knowledge regarding viral suppression, transmission routes, and treatment were statistically significant from pre- to post-test. There were no statistically significant improvements, pre- and post-test, for questions assessing the knowledge of relative transmission and stigma.
Conclusions: The education module is an effective way of targeting preclinical medical students’ knowledge deficits, suggesting that the module should be offered to preclinical students working in a clinic performing HIV testing.