Addressingg HIV and other issues for Chemistry students at College

Abstract

Introduction: Communication, education and communication regarding health issues are closely related. Aims: to share the experience of imparting delicate issues in universities, as well as the students’s perspective on HIV. Methodology: ten year experiences compilation of approaches to HIV issues. Each group of students defined rules before the topics were presented. Such rules were: whoever did not want to expose a experience related to HIV could not stay in the classroom nor listen to his/her classmates; discretion on the exposed experiences was requested; adjustment to the defined time for exposition; recording was forbidden. Results: along the ten years adressing HIV issues, the most suitable methodological techniques were focus group and circular discussion. Presentations were performed for groups of 50 students; discussions were performed with groups from 12 to 15 students. There are still biological and social aspects, as well as unknown consequences about HIV. Conclusions: compilation allowed to establish two main conclusions: a) there is ignorance and underestimation about HIV; b) focus group approach fulfills communication’s essence: to put something in common.