Differences in AIDS knowledge among Spanish and English speakers by socioeconomic status and ability to speak English

Previous studies have shown that Hispanics know less about acquired immunod eficiency syndrome (AIDS) than non-Hispanics, but few studies have examined the role of language or socioeconomic status. We used data from a 1998 pop ulation-based sample survey of New Jersey adults to compare levels of AIDS knowledge among English and Spanish speakers, taking into account education al attainment and ability to speak English. Spanish speakers, especially th ose who filled out the questionnaire in Spanish, knew less about AIDS trans mission, although their general AIDS knowledge was comparable to English sp eakers with similar educational attainment. Differences between Hispanics w ho speak primarily English and those who speak primarily Spanish underscore the idea that linguistic and cultural barriers vary within a cultural grou p and should be taken into account in the design of AIDS education programs .