Knowledge of Acquired Immune Deficiency Syndrome (AIDS) and Syphilis Among Education Faculty Students: A Text Mining Analysis

OBJECTIVE: The proper management of sexually transmitted infections (STIs), such as acquired immune deficiency syndrome (AIDS) and syphilis, has become a public health challenge in Japan and worldwide. We herein examined knowledge of AIDS and syphilis among educational faculty students closely involved in future sex education using a text mining analysis. METHODS: A total of 126 (74 males and 52 females, 19.1 ± 0.1 years) of 176 eligible first- and second-year educational faculty students at a university in Hyogo Prefecture, Japan, were enrolled. We conducted open-ended surveys asking participants to describe what they knew about AIDS and syphilis in written responses. We also investigated participants' knowledge of the number of AIDS and syphilis patients in Japan, their sexual intercourse experience, use of contraceptives for infection prevention, and fears toward AIDS and syphilis. RESULTS: Fifty males (67.6%) and 28 females (53.9%) had sexual intercourse experience. Among these, 76% of males and 69% of females consistently used contraceptives. Sixty-four males (86.5%) and 48 females (92.3%) were afraid of AIDS and syphilis. The text mining analysis showed that the total number of words was 466 for AIDS and 325 for syphilis, indicating fewer words for the latter. An analysis using co-occurrence networks also showed fewer word types and clusters for syphilis than for AIDS. CONCLUSION: Knowledge of AIDS and syphilis, particularly syphilis, appears to be limited among first- and second-year educational faculty students. Due to their future involvement in sex education, the implementation of appropriate and fundamental education regarding STIs is necessary.