A prospective study was conducted to evaluate the influence of pharmacist provided education on knowledge, attitude and practice (KAP) of HIV/AIDS patients towards their disease and treatment. Patients meeting the study criteria were enrolled in to the study. A validated 18 item KAP questionnaire was administered at the base line. The study pharmacist provided both verbal education and patient information leaflets to the patients regarding their disease, lifestyle modification, treatment and importance of adherence at every follow up. At final follow up after 3 months, Influence of education on KAP was assessed by re administering the KAP questionnaire. A total of 90 patients completed the study. At baseline more than 40% of the patients knew about the disease and its mode of transmission. However less than 38% of the patients were aware about the name, dose, frequency and indication of the medications they were receiving. Many study patients presented misconceptions, and negative attitudes about the infection and its prognosis. At final follow-up a significant improvement (p<0.001) was observed with respect to the knowledge regarding the disease, medication and their attitude towards disease management. The study findings show that education has a positive influence on knowledge, attitude and practice of HIV/AIDS patients.
KEY WORDS: AIDS patients, Knowledge, Attitude and Practices (KAP), Patient Education