The purpose of this study is to determine the effectiveness of a university based HIV prevention education elective designed to facilitate moving people from cognitive knowledge about HIV to behavior change.

The study is guided by the following questions:

1. Has this educational offering influenced a change in knowledge, attitudes, and beliefs about HIV?
2. Has this educational offering facilitated the change from cognitive knowledge to behavior change?
3. What educational methods used in this course serve best to institute change?

CDC reports that there have consistently been 40,000 new HIV infections each year for the last ten years in this country alone. Prevention education has been cited as one very effective way to combat this problem but educators continue to search for ways to elevate knowledge into behavior change.

 A three semester hour HIV/AIDS course has been ongoing for ten years as a general elective for university students. A pretest/post test correlational design was used to determine knowledge and attitudes about HIV risks and behaviors before and after this 15 week course. There were significant gains made in general knowledge, attitudes, and beliefs about HIV in the pilot and first studies. Qualitative data show how changes may happen regarding cognition and meaning. These studies using narrative analysis of assignments and course evaluations along with antidotal data  for the ten year duration of the course show that the disease ceases to become “a disease of others” but “could happen to me and those I care about” therefore I need to learn “how to protect myself and those I love”.

            Three other universities have adopted the course design. One course began this summer.