Knowledge of HIV/AIDS in India: Does Context Matter?

Sunita Bose, State University of New York at New Paltz (SUNY)
Chris Morett, Fordham University
Daniel Durkin, Fordham University

In this paper we integrate individual- and community-level correlates of HIV/AIDS awareness in India via the use of multi-level modeling. We investigate whether a sample of women from the 1998-1999 National Family Health Study has heard of HIV/AIDS, the source from which they report having learned of it, and their knowledge of prevention methods. A few studies have examined individual-level correlates of HIV/AIDS knowledge. Meanwhile, there is suggestive evidence of the importance of community and social networks for HIV/AIDS awareness, and we know about the salience of community in India in general. Yet no effort has been undertaken to simultaneously account for individual- and community-level factors. By accounting for community-level female literacy rates and female labor force participation, we aim to provide a more complete understanding of HIV/AIDS awareness and the optimal public health strategies for dealing with this the effort to slow the spread of this disease.