a study on high-school students’ knowledge about the aids in ashkhane city, iran, 2012, applying health belief model

background : this study aimed to determine high-school students’ knowledge about the aids in ashkhane city, iran, using health belief model (hbm). methods: this cross-sectional study was done on 384 female high-school students in ashkhane city. data were collected using a multi-section questionnaire based on hbm constructs that its reliability and validity were approved. data were analyzed using independent-t and anova test via spss   software. findings: the knowledge was in desirable level in 66 studied students (17.2%), in moderate level in 303 students (78.9%) and in undesirable level in 15 students (3.9%). the mean scores of perceived susceptibility, perceived severity, perceived benefits and perceived barriers were 51.48 ± 13.04, 51.90 ± 18.97, 72.90 ± 23.60 and 53.74 ± 21.00, respectively. conclusion: this study showed that high-school students’ knowledge about the aids was in the moderate level. hbm-constructs-based educational programs, especially on perceived susceptibility, seem to be needed.