Evaluation of an HEA Aids awareness pack

THE evaluation of the Health Education Authority's 1989 initiative to raise students' awareness of HIV and Aids through information packs revealed problems with the implementation of the initiative. Most of the contents of the packs were considered useful and interesting, but students had not learnt much about Aids, safer sex and condoms after reading them. Three surveys were undertaken. Thirty-two welfare officers were interviewed over the telephone (response rate 89 per cent); 1388 college, polytechnic and university students completed a postal questionnaire (response rate 74 per cent); and 300 university students were interviewed face to face (response rate 77 per cent). Future Aids education initiatives require collaboration with those responsible for implementing them. Such collaboration can help to determine the mechanism of dissemination, the timing of the initiative and the contents of information-giving materials.