Abstract

Globally, an estimated 30% of all new HIV infections are among youth ages 15 to 25. One of the major challenges to HIV prevention among youth is inadequate sex education. The purpose of this study was to design and implement an online college-credit course on HIV/AIDS education/prevention and then study the impact of the course on student HIV-related knowledge, attitudes, beliefs, and high-risk behaviors. The course entitled AIDS Online International (AOI) was offered at Purdue University North Central (PNC, US) over a period of six years through the Blackboard learning platform. All enrolled students participated in an online anonymous pre/post-course survey (Pre-CAS, Post-CAS). The 4-month course involved an in-depth study of HIV prevention, transmission, testing, treatment, disease progression, drug therapy, and the global epidemic. As a direct result of taking AOI, 83% of the students agreed that they had changed a high-risk behavior, 87% of the students agreed that they were less likely to have unsafe sex, 89% were more likely to use a condom, 92% were more confident in their ability to protect themselves from HIV, 80% were less likely to inject drugs, and 43% of the students decided that they would take an HIV test. Overall, AOI had a positive, meaningful impact on student attitudes, beliefs, knowledge, and “at risk” behaviors related to HIV prevention and transmission. We propose that AOI is an effective low-cost HIV risk reduction intervention with the potential for international scalability.