Determinants of Awareness of High School and Preparatory Students About HIV/AIDS: The Case of Sayint Preparatory and General Secondary School, South Wollo, Ethiopia

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ABSTRACT Introduction The human immunodeficiency virus (HIV) continued to be the major threat to the world. The Ethiopian National Plan, as well as the UNAIDS target for the year 2021–2025, is to significantly reduce the transmission, enhance the prevention and control strategies to reduce deaths from the disease. Objective This study aimed to investigate the determinants of knowledge, attitude, and practice (KAP) towards HIV/AIDS among Sayint Preparatory and General Secondary School students. Methods An institution‐based cross‐sectional study was conducted from August to September 2023. Purposive sampling was used to select the site, and simple random sampling was used to recruit study participants. Results The majority of the respondents had good knowledge (87.3%), positive attitude (88.9%), and good practice (88.6%). From the multivariate analysis, being from an urban area (AOR = 6.52, CI: 2.22–19.12), Grade 10 (AOR, 2.70; CI: 1.15–6.36), and Grade 11 (AOR, 3.69; CI: 1.47–9.30) and (AOR, 2.41–30.27) were factors associated with the knowledge about HIV/AIDS. Being married (AOR, 3.98, CI: 1.10–14.56) and obtaining information from family members (AOR, 0.30; CI: 0.11–0.80) were variables significantly associated with attitude towards HIV/AIDS. Conclusion The KAP of the respondents towards HIV/AIDS was high, but misconceptions were also noted. Extensive sex education programs in schools should be devised to solve the risks associated with HIV/AIDS.