HIV shows symptoms of addiction

The Russian Red Cross today, on World AIDS Day, presented the results of a survey of 6,000 young Russians about HIV awareness. It turned out that more than 70% of those surveyed would “react calmly” if they found out that a loved one had this disease. Only 1% will avoid contact with the infected. Nevertheless, myths and misconceptions about the immunodeficiency virus are still alive in society: 18% believe that the infection can be transmitted through a mosquito bite, 27% – through clothing, 8% think that HIV can be easily cured, and 4% – that with infected people people need to communicate only at a distance of 20 m. Most respondents believe that the family should conduct an educational program, but 76% of the parents surveyed are not always ready to pay attention to the sexual education of their children because of embarrassment and shame.

An anonymous online survey of the Russian Red Cross (RKK) was attended by 6250 people from 14 to 46 years old. There were more than twice as many female respondents as male respondents (68.5% and 31.5%), 97.7% of participants were in the 17-25 age group.

The survey showed that about 78% of Russians consider HIV to be a global problem, while respondents under 20 assess its importance as below average. Respondents note a high degree of participation in its solution mainly by medical (65%), public (53%) and educational organizations (53%), as well as families (61%), but less than half see a high degree of involvement of federal, regional and local authorities respondents (45%).

About 9% of the respondents answered that they know people who have been diagnosed with HIV infection. The highest percentage of such answers is among men and women of the 26-46 age group. If one of the close people reports that he has HIV infection, 72% will react calmly to this, 20% doubt that they will be able to accept the situation, 6% found it difficult to answer, 1.1% will avoid contact. At the same time, about 4% of respondents are sure that it is possible to communicate with a person with HIV infection only at a distance of 20 m.

The vast majority of men and women of all ages named sexual contact as the most likely route of spread (94%). At the same time, 22% of women and 32% of men aged 18 believe that the only possible way of infection is through blood transfusion. About 27% believe that HIV infection can be transmitted through household items, clothes or hugs. And 18% – that HIV infection can be transmitted through a mosquito bite. Participants aged 14–16 agreed with this statement especially often. The authors of the survey note: thus, more than a third of Russians have erroneous knowledge about the ways of transmission of HIV infection or find it difficult to give a detailed answer. Another 8% of respondents believe that even prevention is not needed: if a person has HIV, it can be easily cured. And 66%, on the contrary, are sure that if a person has HIV, then he also has AIDS (in fact, AIDS is the final stage of the course of HIV infection, the infection itself is not treated, but it can be suppressed if you take therapy regularly) .

Of the listed methods of prevention of sexually transmitted infections, 5% of respondents chose coitus interruptus. 44 people out of 300 who chose this answer consider it the only correct one. Barrier methods of contraception (condoms) were mentioned by 79% of respondents. About 21% chose oral contraceptives, passing a regular medical examination – 65%.

“For 30 years I have had to answer the question of whether HIV is transmitted by mosquitoes,” says Vadim Pokrovsky, head of the specialized research department for epidemiology and AIDS prevention at Rospotrebnadzor. According to him, the younger generation does not know that HIV is actually “a rather low-contagious disease compared to the same coronavirus”: “People are afraid to get infected through household contact, while there are only two ways of transmission – through sexual contact and with blood, for example when several people use the same syringe. RKK Chairman Pavel Savchuk notes that the survey results, on the contrary, showed a “high degree” of public awareness of HIV issues. At the same time, in his opinion, the need to work with young people is obvious.

Aleksey Lakhov, a member of the NGO delegation to the UNAIDS (Joint UN Program on HIV/AIDS) Coordinating Council, explains the low awareness of the danger of HIV infection among people under 20 years of age by the attitude “it definitely won’t happen to me” and the lack of sexual education in schools. “The Global HIV/AIDS Strategy for 2021–2026 provides for HIV prevention, including through the implementation of comprehensive programs on sexual and reproductive health and rights among young people,” says Mr. Lakhov. “It is important not to forget about other evidence-based HIV prevention methods. infections: condom distribution, harm reduction programs among drug users, information campaigns created with the participation of key populations with regard to HIV infection”.

About 62% of Russians believe that the main reason for the illiteracy of the younger generation is “parents’ inattention in matters of sexual education.” At the same time, 37% of respondents noted that it is not customary to discuss issues related to intimate life in their family. 76% of the parents surveyed are not always ready to pay attention to sexual education and upbringing of their children due to the presence of psychological barriers (embarrassment, feelings of shame). Insufficient literacy in the intimate life of the parents themselves is the cause of problems for 45% of respondents, another 31% indicated their own negative experience of talking about intimate health with their parents. And about 19% are convinced that educational institutions and public organizations should deal with sexual education and education.

Olesya Tolstukhina, a psychologist at the Doctor Nearby telemedicine company, says that there is an understanding in clinical psychology that a child’s problems are a symptom of the family. Ms. Tolstukhina is sure that an honest and open conversation with a teenager can give him a lot, even if the parent is embarrassed, does not have a partner himself, or his personal experience cannot be called positive.

The Ministry of Health told Kommersant that as part of the state strategy to combat the spread of HIV infection in Russia for the period up to 2030, the department is implementing “comprehensive information and communication campaigns aimed at raising citizens’ awareness of HIV issues, as well as creating a social environment, reducing the level of stigmatization and discrimination against people with HIV infection”. The ministry clarified that the media, social networks and a special portal of the Ministry of Health are used for this.

Natalya Kostarnova