- Mehret Yerdaw: Department of Pharmacology, School of Pharmacy, Addis Ababa University, P.O. Box 1176, Addis Ababa, Ethiopia.
A total of 2278 individuals were interviewed using a pre-tested questionnaire with key indicators such as mode of transmission, attitude towards HIV/AIDS patients, information sources, sex, educational and marital status. Findings indicate that most of the respondents (93.2%) were aware of the reality of HIV/AIDS and considered it as a killer disease (89.2%). A significant number of them had negative attitude towards HIV/AIDS patients. Some 30.4% believed HIV/AIDS patients can be identified through symptoms rather than clinical diagnosis. There is significant association between knowledge of HIV/AIDS and target group (p < 0.001), age (p < 0.05), sex (p < 0.05), marital status (p < 0.05) and educational level (p < 0.001). There is also a remarkable knowledge difference among respondents on means of prolonging life of individuals with HIV/AIDS. Some have never heard about how to prolong the life of such patients (10.2%). Farmers (42.5%) indicated that there is no means of prolonging the life of such patients. Respondents' knowledge on combating HIV/AIDS related diseases as a means of prolonging the life of succumbed individuals was rather low (5.5%). Low level awareness, therefore, may deter HIV/AIDS patients from seeking necessary medical attention.