Read to Succeed (RTS) undertook a Knowledge, Attitudes, Behavior and Practice survey to assess learners HIV/AIDS knowledge, and processes for implementing the HIV/AIDS response inclusive of the Guidance and Counseling services. The KABP targeted learners aged 10 to 18 years in upper primary schools, teachers and administrators in RTS targeted provinces (i.e. Eastern, Luapula, Muchinga, Northern, Northwestern, and Western Provinces). The survey examined if and how the MESTVEE Guidance and Counseling Strategic Framework is being implemented in terms of staffing, collaborative work with learners (Agents of Change), and addressing issues (e.g. bullying, sexual harassment and gender based violence) that deter learners from fully participating in the academic experience; and constraints and challenges to achieving compliance with MESTVEE guidelines. Data, also, was collected on key indicators relating to HIV knowledge, perceptions about risk to pregnancy, STIs and HIV, and knowledge of HIV prevention.
The survey employed a two-phase quasi-experimental design that sampled 6 schools per province in 12 of the 13 RTS-supported districts. MESTVEE’s list of schools provided the sampling frame from which 36 schools were drawn (3 schools in rural and 3 in urban areas). The criterion used for determining rural versus urban location was distance from the District Education Board Secretary (DEBS). Schools 25 kilometers or less from the DEBS were classified as urban, and those beyond this distance were classified as rural
