Out-of-school and ‘at risk’?: Socio-demographic characteristics, AIDS knowledge and risk perception among young people in Northern Tanzania

This paper investigates the reasons why young people in urban and rural Kilimanjaro, Tanzania do not attend school, their socio-demographic characteristics, AIDS knowledge and risk perception. A structured face-to-face interview was conducted with 1007 young people between the ages of 13 and 18. Findings suggest that non-attendance is the product of a complex interaction of economic, individual, family and school-related factors. Boys have more AIDS knowledge than girls, and those from urban areas are more knowledgeable than their rural counterparts. AIDS knowledge increased significantly at each level of education. Those with the highest risk perception were male, of young age and from rural areas. Expanding access to AIDS information, particularly in rural areas, while concomitantly addressing the social and structural determinants of educational attainment is crucial to improving the health of young people.