This study aimed at answering if different printed informatives on HIV transmission (leaflets) can facilitate or make difficult the knowledge about the disease and the attitude towards condoms among high school students. Three hundred secondary students from public and private schools from the cities of Florianópolis, Itajaí and Balneário Camboriú participated. Three types of leaflets were used (A - Adolescence and AIDS; B - Adolescent, drugs and AIDS; C - Adolescence, sexuality and AIDS), and three questionnaires (before, after reading the leaflets and 10 days later). The test of differences between means (Student's t) and analysis of variance (MANOVA) were employed for data analysis, through the software SPSS 11.1. The data indicated the existence of positive impacts of the reading of leaflets on AIDS knowledge, but there were no significant changes concerning the attitude towards condoms. The use of informative leaflets as preventive strategies against AIDS can be evaluated as positive.
AIDS; knowledge; attitude; condom; adolescents
