Women’s Knowledge and Attitudes about HIV/AIDS Prevention Policy in Post-Socialist Georgia

Khatuna Doliashvili, University of Texas at Austin

The current paper explores factors influencing women’s decisions to oppose school-based HIV prevention programs. Examining the individual characteristics common among those opposed to reproductive and sexual health programs in schools can assist in understanding the correlates of opposition and lend insight into how best to build popular support for this important public health intervention. Using data from CDC 1999/2000 Georgian Women RHS, I test if HIV knowledge predicts women’s attitude toward school-based health education. The results show very low level of HIV knowledge and high misconception among educated women. The lack of HIV knowledge and misconceptions concerning HIV transmission are powerful predictors, among other socio-demographic and cultural factors, of opposition to school-based HIV prevention programs among Georgian women. This analysis supports the importance of adult education programs in the realm of reproductive and sexual health, in order to create a supportive legislative environment for school-based program implementation.