Knowledge and attitude change in the general population measured by survey is a weak measure of sustainable change in a community. Better to work with health workers and measure their change in behaviour. Trillions could be spent on 'changing' the general population but discrimination suffered by people living with HIV at the hands of health workers may not change at all.

[him] moderator

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An HIV/AIDS intervention programme with Buddhist aid in Yunnan Province
WU Feng, ZHANG Kong-lai and SHAN Guang-liang
Chinese Medical Journal 2010;123(8):1011-1016

Background The prevalence of HIV/AIDS in Chinese ethnic minorities is an important component of China’s AIDS
issues. In this study, we launched an intervention programme in Yunnan Province of China, where the Dai people live, to
carry out the community-based HIV/AIDS health education and behavioral interventions on ordinary Dai farmers. The Dai
people believe in Theravada Buddhism.

Methods Four rural communities were randomly divided into two groups. In one group (Buddhist group), HIV/AIDS
health education and behavioral intervention were carried out by monks. The other group (women group) was instructed
by women volunteers. The intervention continued for one year and the data were collected before and after the
intervention project.

Results In the Buddhist group, the villagers’ AIDS related knowledge score was boosted from 3.11 to 3.65 (P <0.001),
and some indices of the villagers’ behavior using condoms improved after the intervention. But this improvement was
poorer than that in the women group. In the Buddhist group, the villager’s attitude score towards the people living with
HIV and AIDS (PLWHA) also increased significantly from 1.51 to 2.16 (P <0.001).

Conclusion The results suggested that the Buddhist organization has limited success in promoting the use of condoms,
but plays an important role in eliminating HIV/AIDS related discrimination.