{
  "abstract": "Background Young adults aged 18–25 years bear a disproportionate HIV burden globally, yet institution-level data on HIV/AIDS knowledge among university students in India remain scarce. This study estimated the prevalence of comprehensive HIV/AIDS knowledge and identified independent socio-demographic predictors among university students in southern India. Methods A cross-sectional survey was conducted among 404 consented students aged 18–25 years at Apollo University, Chittoor, Andhra Pradesh (September–November 2025). A 28-item validated, self-administered questionnaire assessed knowledge across five domains: transmission routes, prevention strategies, testing and treatment, misconception correction, and general awareness. Cronbach’s alpha for the 28-item instrument was 0.847, indicating good internal consistency. Adequate domain-level knowledge was defined as correctly answering ≥ 60% of items within a domain; overall adequate knowledge required achieving this threshold in ≥ 3 of 5 domains. Multivariable logistic regression identified independent predictors (p < 0.05). Results Overall, 376 of 404 participants (93.1%; 95% CI: 90.1–95.3%) demonstrated adequate comprehensive HIV/AIDS knowledge. Domain-specific adequacy was highest for General Awareness (93.3%) and Testing & Treatment (92.8%), and lowest for Misconception Correction (79.7%). Critical item-level gaps persisted for the window period concept (65.8%), first HIV/AIDS country recognition (55.2%), MTCT certainty (71.8%), and saliva as a non-transmitting fluid (75.5%). Age group was the only independent predictor: students aged 20 years and above were 3.62 times more likely to demonstrate adequate knowledge than 18–19-year-olds (AOR = 3.62, 95% CI: 1.49–8.81, p = 0.005). No significant associations were found for gender, education, residence, or income. Conclusions A substantial majority of university students demonstrated adequate HIV/AIDS knowledge by domain-composite criteria; however, critical item-level gaps in the window period concept, MTCT transmission, fluid-specific facts, and confirmatory diagnostics represent targeted priorities for campus-based HIV education, particularly for first-year students aged 18–19 years.",
  "abstract_shown": true,
  "affiliations": [
    "Department of Community Medicine, Apollo Institute of Medical Sciences and Research Chittoor",
    "Department of Dermatology, Venereology and Leprology, Apollo Institute of Medical Sciences and Research Chittoor",
    "Department of Social Work, School of Social Sciences, The Apollo University"
  ],
  "article_type": null,
  "arxiv": null,
  "author_total": 4,
  "authors": [
    {
      "affs": [
        0
      ],
      "name": "Ashok Kumar Reddy k"
    },
    {
      "affs": [
        0
      ],
      "name": "Sravana Deepthi C"
    },
    {
      "affs": [
        1
      ],
      "name": "Venkata Ravikanth Eddula"
    },
    {
      "affs": [
        2
      ],
      "name": "Mahendranath Chowdary R"
    }
  ],
  "bibtex": "https://research.draconitic.com/paper/bppf0fbam98qq.bib",
  "cited_by": 0,
  "doi": "10.1186/s12982-026-02984-x",
  "fulltext_url": "https://doi.org/10.1186/s12982-026-02984-x",
  "id": "bppf0fbam98qq",
  "issns": [
    "3005-0774"
  ],
  "landing_url": "https://doi.org/10.1186/s12982-026-02984-x",
  "language": "en",
  "licence": "CC-BY",
  "licence_label": "CC BY",
  "licence_source": "journal",
  "licence_url": "https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/",
  "metadata_licence": null,
  "native_subjects": [
    [
      "lcc",
      "RA1-1270"
    ],
    [
      "openalex",
      "2725|HIV/AIDS Research and Interventions"
    ]
  ],
  "openalex": "W7223063448",
  "pdf_url": "https://link.springer.com/content/pdf/10.1186/s12982-026-02984-x.pdf",
  "pmcid": null,
  "pmid": null,
  "published": "2026-10-25",
  "publisher": "Springer",
  "ris": "https://research.draconitic.com/paper/bppf0fbam98qq.ris",
  "sources": [
    {
      "first_seen": "2026-10-30T13:45:32Z",
      "native_id": "1662da10d43c44ae8622fe98b3aafe96",
      "source": "doaj",
      "url": "https://doi.org/10.1186/s12982-026-02984-x"
    }
  ],
  "subjects": [
    {
      "field": "medicine",
      "origin": "openalex:2725|HIV/AIDS Research and Interventions",
      "subfield": "infectious-disease"
    }
  ],
  "title": "Prevalence and sociodemographic predictors of comprehensive HIV/AIDS knowledge among university students in Southern India",
  "title_text": "Prevalence and sociodemographic predictors of comprehensive HIV/AIDS knowledge among university students in Southern India",
  "type": "peer-reviewed",
  "updated_at": "2026-10-30T13:45:32Z",
  "url": "https://research.draconitic.com/paper/bppf0fbam98qq",
  "venue": "Discover Public Health",
  "versions": []
}